One in three of the world's population now owns a smartphone

Although smartphones are commonplace in the developed world, there are still plenty of people who don’t yet own one, and they are still far rarer in developing nations.

However, smartphone growth is on the up, and according to the latest findings from Strategy Analytics’ WSS (Smartphones) research service, the number of global smartphone users reached 2 billion in 2014.

By the end of 2105, the company predicts the number of users will have grown to 2.5 billion, or 35 percent of the world’s population. Strategy Analytics defines a "user" as a person who owns and uses one or more active smartphones.

That’s a sizable increase, as in 2013 just 1.5 billion (22 percent of the world’s population) owned a smartphone.

Neil Mawston, Executive Director, Wireless Smartphone Strategies, says: "The smartphone has become one of the most widespread electronic devices of all time. The smartphone is ubiquitous and it is rapidly evolving to become a central hub for controlling consumers’ daily lives in the home, car and office of the future".

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