Infographic – Mobile Phones in Emerging Economies

Mobile phone ownership and sharing in 11 emerging economies (Pew Research Center)

20 Apr. 2019. Just about everything we report in Science & Enterprise comes from advanced economies: U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and Israel. But there’s much more to the world, and we’ll begin telling about other regions where technology is also making an impact. For example, the Pew Research Center last month reported results of surveys about mobile phone use, conducted in 11 emerging economies, the source of this weekend’s infographic.

The 11 countries surveyed were Colombia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Vietnam, conducted between September and December 2018. The results show mobile phone ownership or sharing among adults is nearly universal in most of these countries, with outright ownership of phones highest in Vietnam and Jordan. Only in 4 of the 11 countries — Mexico, Philippines, India, and Venezuela — do more than 1 in 10 adults go without access to a mobile phone.

The Pew surveys also reveal key factors about phone use in the 11 societies. Mobile phones, particularly smartphones, tend to be the primary means of accessing the Internet in these countries. Only in Lebanon does a majority of adults, 57 percent, have access to a computer or tablet as well as a phone. In addition, mobile phone users tend to be younger and better educated, with women phone users ranging from 56 percent in India to 96 percent in Vietnam.

More from Science & Enterprise:

• Infographic – 5G Phone Service to Far Surpass 4G
• Infographic – Apple Phone Sales Down, Wearables Up
• Infographic – Smartphone Data Collection, Like It or Not

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