According to the latest research from our WSS (Smartphones) research service, global smartphone users reached 2 billion for the first time ever in 2014.
One in three of the world’s population now owns a smartphone.
Global smartphone users grew 37 percent from 1.5 billion in 2013 to reach 2.1 billion users in 2014. This is the first time worldwide smartphone users have surpassed the two-billion level. We forecast global smartphone users to increase a further 22 percent to 2.5 billion in 2015. An impressive 35 percent of the world’s 7.2 billion population will own a smartphone by the end of 2015, up from 29 percent in 2014.
Well over 2 billion people worldwide own a smartphone today. 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.
Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Users in 2013 to 2015 [1]
| Global Smartphone Users (Billions of Units) | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Total Smartphone Users | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Total Population | 7.0 | 7.1 | 7.2 |
| Total Smartphone Users as % of Total Population | 22% | 29% | 35% |
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| Source: Strategy Analytics | | | |
[1] Numbers are rounded. A “user” is defined as a person who owns and uses one or more active smartphones.