Feb 13, 2019

Smartphone ownership is rising around the world

Dave Lawler

Here's a quick look at smartphone ownership in selected countries, according to Pew:

  • Advanced economies: South Korea (95%), Israel (88%), U.S. (81%), France (75%), Japan (66%), Canada (66%), Russia (59%).
  • Emerging economies: South Africa (60%), Brazil (60%), Mexico (52%), Tunisia (45%), Nigeria (39%), India (24%).
  • The age gap: In Indonesia, 66% of 18-35 year olds own cell phones, compared to just 13% of those 50+. The gap is also huge in developed countries like Poland (93% vs. 35%). In the U.S. it's 95% vs. 67%.

The trend: Across the emerging economies, smartphone ownership has jumped from 18% to 47% over the past five years, while mobile phone ownership has virtually held steady at 80%.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 1,365,004— Total deaths: 76,507 — Total recoveries: 292,467 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 369,069 — Total deaths: 11,018 — Total recoveries: 20,003 — Map.
  3. Trump administration latest: Peter Navarro warned White House colleagues in late January about the massive potential risks from the coronavirus.
  4. Federal government latest: The public wants the federal government, not states, in charge of coronavirus — Testing capacity is still lagging far enough behind demand.
  5. States update: New York death toll surged to its highest one-day total as state predicts a plateau in hospitalizations.
  6. 2020 update: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks the governor's attempt to delay in-person primary voting until June.
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