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The State of Global Mobile Internet Traffic - Statistics and Trends [Infographic]

Created: Apr 04, 2017

Updated: Oct 01, 2024

It's faster than you think that people have shifted from computers to mobiles. The number of websites designed to work better on phones and tablets is increasing. Therefore, websites that load faster and user friendly designs ensure that users have a smooth experience while visiting websites.

Since the mobile phone has become one of the key factors of worldwide mobile internet traffic, let’s look into some fascinating stats about it that you need to know.
Related: Internet Infrastructure Development in Sudan: Bridging the Digital Divide

Key Statistics of Mobile Internet Traffic

  • Mobile phones are the source through which 64.4% of people in the world access the internet.
  • 99% of Norway, Ireland, and Saudi Arabian populations has the highest mobile phone usage penetration that stands at 99%.
  • Mobile internet penetration in the US stands at 91.8%, UK at 97.8%, and Singapore at 96.9% respectively.
  • The average global download speed of mobile data stands at 41.54 Mbps.
  • The countries with the fastest mobile internet speeds are the UAE (178.25 Mbps), Qatar (174.56 Mbps), and Norway (143.55 Mbps).
  • Countries with the slowest mobile internet speeds include Cuba (3.44 Mbps), Afghanistan (4.14 Mbps), and Venezuela (6.59 Mbps).
  • 63 % of search traffic in the US now comes from a mobile device.
  • 15% of adults in the US access the internet only through mobile phones, without home broadband.
  • 92.3% of website access is done via mobile devices.
  • Over 5.3 billion people use mobile internet.
  • The continent that contributes the most to mobile internet traffic is Africa, at a share of 69.13%
  • The mobile sector will account for 60.67% of the global website traffic in 2024
  • The US generates 10.04 exabytes of mobile internet traffic per month.
  • By 2025, over 1 billion 5G connections will be available globally.
  • 92.3% of the internet users stated their preference for using the Internet via mobile phones.
  • 45.59% of North America’s internet traffic originated from mobile gadgets.
  • 85.38% America access the internet with mobile
  • Mobile traffic grew by 75% over the period of 2015-2024.

Global mobile internet traffic

Infographic by GO Gulf Website Design Company Abu Dhabi

Mobile Internet Traffic for Each Quarter of Every Year (2015 - 2024)

Over the years, mobile internet traffic has been steadily on the rise, showing high increases and small declines in usage for each of the quarters. The figures below outline how mobile devices have become so important for us to access the internet today. Let's take a look at how mobile internet traffic has changed from the first quarter of each year.

Quarter Share Annual Change
1st Quarter - 2015 31.16% -
1st Quarter - 2016 39.47% ↑ 26.67%
1st Quarter - 2017 50.03% ↑ 26.75%
1st Quarter - 2018 51.77% ↑ 3.48%
1st Quarter - 2019 48.71% ↓ 5.91%
1st Quarter - 2020 51.92% ↑ 6.59%
1st Quarter - 2021 54.8% ↑ 5.55%
1st Quarter - 2022 59.66% ↑ 4.86%
1st Quarter - 2023 60.89% ↑ 1.23%
1st Quarter - 2024 61.21% ↓ 1.88%

Global Internet Users By Devices

Majority of the devices that bring the users online are mobile phones. No matter is its smartphone or smart home appliances, all have a role to connect us to Internet. Here are internet users by devices globally.

Related: Smartphone Usage In Hong Kong - Statistics and Trends

Device Share of Users
Mobile phone (any) 92.3%
Laptop or desktop (any) 65.6%
Smartphone 91%
Feature phone 5.2%
Tablet device 27.3%
Own laptop or desktop 59.1%
Work laptop or desktop 28.6%
Connected television 31.9%
Smart home device 15.4%
Games console 12.7%

Average of Montlhy Mobile Internet Traffic 

The increase in mobile internet data use has shown an acceleration in the last few years. Accounting for both uploads and downloads, the average monthly traffic in exabytes of the respective quarters continues to grow steadily. Below are some average monthly mobile network data traffic figures from various quarters of the years that illustrate this growth.

Here’s the updated table with each year broken down into its four quarters, following the original data structure:

Quarter (Year) Monthly Average Global Mobile Network Data Traffic in Exabytes (Upload and Download)
1st Quarter - 2017 9.68 EB
2nd Quarter -  2017 10.63 EB
3rd Quarter -  2017 11.69 EB
4th Quarter -  2017 13.60 EB
1st Quarter -  2018 15.94 EB
2nd Quarter -  2018 18.37 EB
3rd Quarter -  2018 21.78 EB
4th Quarter -  2018 26.54 EB
1st Quarter -  2019 29.02 EB
2nd Quarter -  2019 32.66 EB
3rd Quarter -  2019 36.49 EB
4th Quarter -  2019 39.56 EB
1st Quarter -  2020 45.16 EB
2nd Quarter -  2020 50.03 EB
3rd Quarter -  2020 54.79 EB
4th Quarter -  2020 58.44 EB
1st Quarter -  2021 66.14 EB
2nd Quarter -  2021 72.20 EB
3rd Quarter -  2021 77.81 EB
4th Quarter -  2021 84.16 EB
1st Quarter -  2022 92.75 EB
2nd Quarter -  2022 100.42 EB
3rd Quarter -  2022 107.58 EB
4th Quarter -  2022 118.21 EB
1st Quarter -  2023 126.00 EB
2nd Quarter -  2023 133.86 EB
3rd Quarter -  2023 143.14 EB

Mobile Internet Traffic By Types

While Android is leading, with Apple and other brands are at the top of the list as well. Some brands are just incredible in growth. Below are rankings of device types based on their share of mobile internet traffic and how they've changed from the previous year.

Rank Device Type Share Change Over Previous Year
1 Android 70.48% -2.6%
2 Apple 28.8% +6.7%
3 Samsung 0.37% +2.8%
4 KAI 0.14% +27.3%
5 Other 0.21% +16.7%

Growth In Mobile Internet Traffic By Years (2011-2024)

Mobile internet traffic has increased immensely. It started from less than 6% in 2011 and has remained steadily high, indicating that people are increasingly depending on mobile devices for accessing the internet. The share of mobile internet traffic is as shown below year after year, which tracks upward.

Year Mobile Internet Traffic
2011 6.09%
2012 10.88%
2013 17.02%
2014 28.97%
2015 35.20%
2016 43.66%
2017 51.58%
2018 50.81%
2019 50.43%
2020 51.61%
2021 55.01%
2022 58.37%
2023 60.67%
2024 63.83%

Share of Internet Traffic Via Mobiles In Different Regions

Mobile internet use differs significantly across various regions worldwide. There are some places where mobile devices are more commonly used for internet access, and there are places where it is less as compare to others. The table below shows the percentage of mobile internet traffic for various regions, giving a clear picture of how mobile devices are used globally.

 

Rank Region Share of Mobile Internet Traffic Difference to Global Average
#1 Africa 69.13% + 12.24%
#2 Asia 65.2% + 8.31%
- Global 56.89% -
#3 South America 51.47% - 5.42%
#4 Europe 49.19% - 7.7%
#5 North America 48.49% - 8.4%
#6 Oceania 39.51% - 17.38%

Top Activity Share In Global Mobile Internet Traffic 

People use their mobile for a number of things every day. From gaming and music to shopping and banking, mobile internet traffic it helps us in what we do online. The table below shows how much each activity contributes to overall mobile internet usage, highlighting the most popular ways we engage with the internet.

Activity Share
Gaming 68%
Music 67%
social media 63%
Streaming videos, TV, or film 61%
Paid for something bought online 47%
Bank usage 47%
Shopping products  42%
Booked food delivery 41%
Work-related 38%
Sent money to a friend 35%
Paid for something using Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc. 33%
Read a magazine or newspaper 33%
Used a medical or fitness service 25%
Booked a taxi ride 22%
Controlled a smart device 20%
Other 3%

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