Mobile subscriptions now outnumber people in the world

The mobile revolution passed another milestone this year. According to Ericsson’s most recent Mobility Report, the number of mobile subscriptions now outnumbers the world’s population. You heard that right: there are more mobile subscriptions than people living on this planet. According to Ericsson’s estimates, the number stood at 7.3 billion at the end of September and will grow to 7.4 billion by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the world’s population will climb to 7.35 billion by the end of 2015, according to the United Nations.

The fact that many people have multiple active or inactive subscriptions more than makes up for the many people still living without a mobile phone. Ericsson puts the number of actual subscribers at 4.9 billion, leaving 2.4 billion people disconnected.

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Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Felix Richter is a Media Relations Manager at Statista. 

Image: Men are silhouetted against a video screen as they pose with Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia Lumia 820 and iPhone 4 smartphones (R-L) in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, May 17, 2013. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic