The State of Mobile Phone Usage Worldwide, According to Nielsen

Did you know that nearly 95% of people in the United States owned a mobile phone in 2012? It’s true, and as mobile devices have continued to develop into handheld multimedia machines (think iPhone 5 and apps like Voxox Call), mobiles and smartphones are playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives.

To delve deeper into the world of mobile communications and better understand how we use our mobiles, Nielsen conducted a study that looks at mobile consumers around the globe. From apps, to social networking, to mobile commerce, there’s no topic left untouched. The full results and methodology can be found in the 2013 Mobile Consumer Report. Here are some highlights…:

• 95% of people in the United States owned a mobile phone in 2012 and 53% owned smartphones.
• In general, smartphone owners globally tend to skew male (except for Australia) and mobile phone owners tend to skew female.
• Although younger users are more likely to own a smartphone than older users, in Italy consumers have higher smartphone ownership among users ages 35-64.
• More than half of Russian mobile subscribers (51%) own two or more mobile devices, while dual ownership in the US tops at 17%.
• 85% of American smartphone owners regularly use social media apps.
• Each month, US mobile users send and receive an average of 164.5 calls and 164.2 text messages, and use 644.1 voice minutes.
• Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter and eBay consistently rank in the top 10 sites among mobile web users around the world.

"How Many of Us Use a Mobile Phone" as Reported by Nielson 2013

Despite the various ways we now have to communicate on a global scale – video chat, VoIP, text messaging and social networks -- mobiles continue to serve as the primary communications channel for people around the world.

For more interesting stats on mobile phone usage and smartphone trends, check out our other factoid-filled posts! Be sure to share your favorite tidbits in the comments below or connect with us on social media – Facebook and Twitter.