5.1 billion mobile phone users by 2017, mostly in Asia –report

At least 5.1 billion people may be using mobile phones by 2017, nearly one billion more than this year, a tech site reported Friday.

 

To put that in perspective, according to the World Bank, the global population as of end-2012 was just over 7 billion.

 

Mashable cited figures from Statista indicating the bulk of phone owners will be in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines.

 

Citing the Statista figures, Mashable said there are presently 4.306 billion people using mobile phones worldwide.

 

Of these, 2.423 billion are in Asia-Pacific, 672 million in Europe, 526 million in Middle East and Africa, 415 million in Latin America, and 270 million in North America.

 

By 2017, Asia-Pacific is projected to account for 2.944 billion - or nearly three billion - mobile phone users.

 

Also by 2017, there may be 728 million mobile phone users in Europe, 671 million in Middle East and Africa, 472 million in Latin America, and 287 million in North America.

 

"Asia, the region that will see the most growth, is already home to the most mobile phone users. Some 2.4 billion people there use mobile phones, a figure projected to grow to 2.9 billion by 2017," Mashable noted. — TJD, GMA News