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This article was first published 10 years ago

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Last updated on: May 10, 2013 19:49 IST

Image: A woman sends text messages while a man chats on his mobile phone in Shanghai, China.
Photographs: Claro Cortes/Reuters

There were 12.4 million mobile-phone subscribers all across the world in 1990, but this figure jumped to more than six billion in 2011, according to Wikipedia.

Let's take a look at 30 countries, including India, that have most mobile phones.

Source: Wikipedia

China

Number of mobile phones: 1.04 billion

Population: 1.35 billion

Number of phones as percentage of population: 75.32 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 1

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A woman talks on a mobile phone as she stands near a wood carving at a hotel lobby in New Delhi.
Photographs: Kamal Kishore/Reuters

India

Number of mobile phones: 861.66 million

Population: 1.22 billion

Number of phones as percentage of population: 70.42 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 2

...

Tags: India

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: People talk on their mobile phones in New York City, United States.
Photographs: Keith Bedford/Reuters

The United States

Number of mobile phones: 327.57 million

Population: 310.86 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 103.9 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 3

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Miss Mexico 2011 Karin Ontiveros jokes with a boy as she takes a photograph in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Photographs: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

Brazil

Number of mobile phones: 263.04 million

Population: 192.37 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 136.7 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 4

...

Tags: Brazil

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: St Nicholas (Nikolskaya) Tower, left, and the History Museum, right, in Moscow's Red Square, Russia.
Photographs: Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters

Russia

Number of mobile phones: 256.11 million

Population: 142.90 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 155.5 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 5

...

Tags: Russia

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: An aerial view of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
Photographs: Supri/Reuters

Indonesia

Number of mobile phones: 236.80 million

Population: 237.55 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 109.28 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 6

...

Tags: Indonesia

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A computer screen is reflected in the glass window of a booth where a broker monitors the market while talking on a mobile phone at the Karachi Stock Exchange in Pakistan.
Photographs: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Pakistan

Number of mobile phones: 122.06 million

Population: 178.85 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 68.83 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 7

...

Tags: Pakistan

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Japan

Number of mobile phones: 121.24 million

Population: 127.62 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 95.1 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 8

...

Tags: Japan

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view shows the skyline of old city of Potsdam, south of Berlin, Germany.
Photographs: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

Germany

Number of mobile phones: 107.00 million

Population: 81.88 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 130.1 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 9

...

Tags: Germany

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Fishermen prepare their nets as they sail during sunset in Puerto Galera province of Oriental Mindoro, some 120km southwest of Manila, the Philippines.
Photographs: Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters

The Philippines

Number of mobile phones: 106.98 million

Population: 94.01 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 113.8 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 10

...

Tags:

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A clock at Lagos Cathedral Church strikes at 12 noon, in Nigeria.
Photographs: Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters

Nigeria

Number of mobile phones: 101.27 million

Population: 140.00 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 72.3 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 11

...

Tags: Nigeria

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: People watch a puppet show as they celebrate Pohela Boishakh, the first day of Bengali new year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photographs: Andrew Biraj/Reuters

Bangladesh

Number of mobile phones: 98.47 million

Population: 148.09 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 68 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 12

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of residential buildings in north western Tehran, Iran.
Photographs: Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters

Iran

Number of mobile phones: 96.16 million

Population: 73.97 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 130 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 13

...

Tags: Iran

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Hot air balloons fly over the Metropolitano park during the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Leon, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
Photographs: Mario Armas/Reuters

Mexico

Number of mobile phones: 92.90 million

Population: 112.32 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 82.7 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 14

...

Tags: Mexico

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Trams travel in downtown Milan, Italy.
Photographs: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

Italy

Number of mobile phones: 88.58 million

Population: 60.09 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 147.4 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 15

...

Tags: Italy

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Two women walk along the Millennium footbridge crossing the River Thames towards St Paul's Cathedral in central London, United Kingdom.
Photographs: Andrew Winning/Reuters

The United Kingdom

Number of mobile phones: 75.75 million

Population: 61.61 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 122.9 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 16

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Seafood vendors walk at a fishing port in Cam Pha town in Quang Ninh province, 200km from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Photographs: Kham/Reuters

Vietnam

Number of mobile phones: 72.30 million

Population: 90.54 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 79 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 17

...

Tags: Vietnam

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A man rides bicycle as he makes his way along a snow-covered sidewalk near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Photographs: John Schults/Reuters

France

Number of mobile phones: 72.18 million

Population: 63.57 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 114.2 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 18

...

Tags: France

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of the Nile River flowing through the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Photographs: Aladin Abdel Naby/Reuters

Egypt

Number of mobile phones: 92.64 million

Population: 82.12 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 112.81 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 19

...

Tags: Egypt

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view shows the beach town of Pattaya, nearly 150km east of Bangkok, in Thailand.
Photographs: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters

Thailand

Number of mobile phones: 69.00 million

Population: 65.00 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 105 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 20

...

Tags: Thailand

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of Istanbul's financial district in Turkey.
Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Turkey

Number of mobile phones: 66.00 million

Population: 71.51 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 92.2 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 21

...

Tags: Turkey

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of downtown Kiev, capital of Ukraine.
Photographs: Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Ukraine

Number of mobile phones: 57.50 million

Population: 45.57 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 126.0 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 22

...

Tags: Ukraine

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Apgujeong Rodeo Street in the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea.
Photographs: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

South Korea

Number of mobile phones: 52.51 million

Population: 48.58 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 108.1 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 23

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of Agbar Tower, left, in Barcelona, Spain.
Photographs: Albert Gea/Reuters

Spain

Number of mobile phones: 50.89 million

Population: 45.82 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 111.0 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 24

...

Tags: Spain

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of the Buenos Aires' 9 de Julio Avenue with the Obelisk in the background in Argentina.
Photographs: Enrique Marcarian/Reuters

Argentina

Number of mobile phones: 50.40 million

Population: 40.13 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 125.6 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 25

...

Tags: Argentina

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of Warsaw, capital of Poland.
Photographs: Peter Andrews/Reuters

Poland

Number of mobile phones: 47.15 million

Population: 38.18 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 123.48 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 26

...

Tags: Poland

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: An illuminated Christmas decoration of an angel overlooks Bogota city in Colombia.
Photographs: John Vizcaino/Reuters

Colombia

Number of mobile phones: 46.14 million

Population: 45.39 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 101.6 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 27

...

Tags: Colombia

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: Waves crash the shoreline of Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, in South Africa.
Photographs: Steve James/Reuters

South Africa

Number of mobile phones: 59.47 million

Population: 50.58 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 117.6 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 28

...

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A view of the Jardin Essai botanical garden at Hamma in Algiers, Algeria.
Photographs: Louafi Larbi/Reuters

Algeria

Number of mobile phones: 33.00 million

Population: 35.00 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 94.2 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 29

...

Tags: Algeria

30 countries that have most mobile phones

Image: A woman walks along a street at a market in Kinmen County. Kinmen, near Xiamen, China, is a small archipelago of several islands administered by Taiwan.
Photographs: Nicky Loh/Reuters

Taiwan

Number of mobile phones: 28.61 million

Population: 23.19 million

Number of phones as percentage of population: 123.33 per cent

Global rank in number of mobile phones: 30

Tags: Taiwan