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Mobile technology has spread rapidly around the globe. Today, it is estimated that more than 5 billion people have mobile devices, and over half of these connections are smartphones. But the growth in mobile technology to date has not been equal, either across nations or within them. People in advanced economies are more likely to have mobile phones – smartphones in particular – and are more likely to use the internet and social media than people in emerging economies. For example, a median of 76% across 18 advanced economies surveyed have smartphones, compared with a median of only 45% in emerging economies. Economic categorization Countries are grouped into two economic categories, “advanced” and “emerging,” based on multiple sources and criteria, including: World Bank income classifications; per capita gross domestic product (PPP); total size of the country’s economy, as measured by GDP; and average GDP growth rate between 2013 and 2017. For more information, see Appendix A. Smartphone ownership can vary widely by country, even across advanced economies. While around nine-in-ten or more South Koreans, Israelis and Dutch people own smartphones, ownership rates are closer to sixin-ten in other developed nations like Poland, Russia and Greece. In emerging economies, too, smartphone ownership rates vary substantially, from highs of 60% in South Africa and Brazil to just around four-in-ten in Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria. Among the surveyed countries, ownership is lowest in India, where only 24% report having a smartphone. Whether in advanced or emerging economies, younger people, those with higher levels of education and those with higher incomes are more likely to be digitally connected.1,2 Younger people in every country surveyed are much more likely to have smartphones, access the internet and use social media. In all of the advanced economies surveyed, large majorities under the age of 35 own a smartphone. In contrast, smartphone ownership among advanced economies’ older populations varies widely, ranging from just about a quarter of Russians 50 and older to about nine-in-ten older South Koreans. However, in many of these advanced economies, the age gap in smartphone ownership has been closing since 2015. Two factors may contribute to this narrowing gap: First, those under 35 were already very likely to own smartphones when asked in 2015, presenting a “ceiling” of sorts. Second, the older age group appears to be steadily adopting smartphone technology. For example, ninein-ten or more Americans ages 34 and under have had a smartphone since 2015, while the ownership rate among the 50-and-older age group has risen from 53% to 67% over the same period. In most emerging economies, however, patterns of smartphone ownership look quite different. In these countries, ownership rates across all age groups tend to be lower than those seen in advanced economies. For example, while majorities of adults ages 50 and older own smartphones in many advanced economies, in no emerging economy surveyed do smartphone ownership rates among this older group rise above 35%. Further, in most emerging economies, the age gap in smartphone ownership has been growing in recent years. Although the older age group is more likely to have phones now than they were a few years ago, the rate of adoption has been much faster among the younger age group. In the Philippines, for example, those 34 and under are 47 percentage points more likely to have a smartphone today than those ages 50 and older – compared with a gap of only 23 percentage points in 2015. Education and income level also play sizable roles when it comes to explaining differences in technological use in most countries. In every country surveyed, better-educated and higherincome people are more likely to use the internet than people with lower levels of education or income. And in nearly every country, the same is true of social media use. The education gaps in emerging economies are especially wide. For example, a majority of Nigerians with a secondary education or more use social media (58%) compared with just 10% of Nigerians with less education, for a gap of 48 percentage points. The education gap in internet use is an even wider 53 points: 65% of more-educated Nigerians use the internet compared with just 12% of those with lower levels of education. In contrast, gender plays only a limited role in explaining differences in technological use in most countries. Whether in advanced or emerging economies, men and women generally use technology – including smartphones, the internet and social media – at similar rates. For example, the gender gap in smartphone ownership is usually in the mid-single digits, where gaps exist at all. In Japan, for instance, 69% of men own smartphones compared with 63% of women. And, in most countries, men and women have largely obtained smartphones at similar rates in recent years, meaning that the gender gap in usage has remained constant. In Brazil, for example, while 38% of women and 43% of men owned smartphones in 2015, today 57% of women and 63% own them – a nearly identical gap at both points in time. The notable exception to this pattern is India, where men (34%) are much more likely than women (15%) to own smartphones – a gap of 19 percentage points. And India’s gender gap is growing: Today’s gap is 10 points wider than it was just five years ago (then, 16% of men and 7% of women owned smartphones). 1. Digital connectivity growing rapidly in emerging economies In all 27 countries surveyed, majorities of people own a mobile phone. In advanced economies such as South Korea and France, ownership rates are upwards of 90%. Mobile phones are increasingly common in emerging economies as well. Across the nine emerging economies surveyed, a median of 83% report owning a mobile phone, including nine-in-ten or more in Tunisia (90%) and South Africa (94%). Smartphone adoption also continues to increase in emerging nations. While the share of the public that owns a smartphone remained largely unchanged between 2017 and 2018 in most advanced economies surveyed – due to the already high ownership rates evident in 2017 – it increased in eight of the nine developing economies surveyed. Despite these increases in smartphone ownership, emerging economies still trail advanced economies. About six-in-ten or more own a smartphone in every advanced economy surveyed, while only two emerging economies surveyed reach that threshold. Among emerging economies, rates of ownership range from a low of 24% in India to a high of 60% in Brazil and South Africa. Smartphone ownership more widespread in wealthier countries % of adults who own a smartphone Source: Spring 2018 Global Attitudes Survey. Q46. GDP data from the World Bank accessed Dec. 12, 2018. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Argentina Australia Brazil Canada France Germany Greece Hungary India Indonesia Israel Italy Japan Kenya Mexico Netherlands Nigeria Philippines Poland Russia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Tunisia UK U.S. 0 25 50 75 100 $0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 2017 GDP per capita (PPP, current international $) North America Europe Russia Asia/Pacific Middle East/North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America % Correlation = 0.85 9 PEW RESEARCH CENTER www.pewresearch.org Across all 27 countries surveyed, there is a strong relationship between smartphone ownership and per capita gross domestic product (by purchasing power parity, or PPP) – a trend which has held steady since the question was first posed in 2015. Today, most people who own a mobile phone own a smartphone. But in emerging economies, this was not the case even a few years ago. As recently as 2015, a median of 80% owned a mobile phone of any sort, while a median of only 27% owned a smartphone. Over the past three years, while mobile phone ownership overall has held steady, smartphones have made up a much larger share of mobile devices owned. Today, a median of nearly half own a smartphone. For example, three years ago, 89% of South Africans owned a mobile phone. Today, the share who own a mobile phone of some kind has ticked up to 94%, while smartphone ownership has grown from just over a third (37%) to a majority of the population (60%). Even as smartphone ownership has climbed year-over-year in these emerging economies, a sizable minority of roughly one-in-five has reported not owning a mobile phone of any kind each year since 2013. In Brazil, for example, smartphone ownership has quadrupled since 2013, increasing from 15% of the public to 60% today. But mobile phone ownership overall has remained steady: At both points in time, roughly eight-in-ten Brazilians owned a mobile phone Internet use is nearly universal in most advanced economies surveyed. In the United States, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, Israel and South Korea, more than nine-in-ten use the internet. And in emerging economies, about half or more use the internet in every country but India. Usage is also growing rapidly in these emerging economies. For example, five years ago less than half of the Mexican public (45%) and only about a third of Filipinos (34%) used the internet at least occasionally or owned a smartphone. Today, internet use in these countries stands at 73% and 66%, respectively. But these internet use estimates are complicated by an evolving understanding of what “using the internet” means. Previous Pew Research Center surveys have calculated internet use based on the share of the public who either report using the internet at least occasionally or who say they own a smartphone. These individuals were then the only ones who were asked whether they used social media or not.