Top 5 Countries with Most Cell Phone Subscribers

It is hard to believe that 60% of the world's population owns a mobile phone which is roughly 4 billion cell phones. Cell phone manufacturers have banked since the introduction of the commercial cell phone in the 80s to the United States, Japan, and Europe. Now, the future of cell phones is thought to be of touch screens and getting smaller each time. The following is a list of countries with the most cell phones and how it compares to its population.

The country with the fifth highest amount of cell phones is Brazil, with approximately 151,900,000 sets. 80% of the population owns a mobile phone in this country where landlines are being closed every day while new cell phones are being activated. The main service providers are Vivo Participacoes, TIM Participacoes, and Claro.

Russia has the fourth highest amount of mobile phones in the world with 172 million sets. This is an astonishing number as it indicates that 121% of the population owns a mobile phone, meaning there are more phones than people in Russia. It is common for Russians on the move to have different SIM cards and therefore different phone numbers for cities they may visit often. Also, Russians usually update their mobile phones from twice to four times a year to keep up with the changing trends.

Coming in at third place for most cell phones is the United States, with 260 million sets. This translates to about 85% of Americans owning a mobile phone. Inappropriate cell phone usage is such a big deal here that 25 states are considering placing restraints on them. It is illegal for drivers under 18 in Maryland to be talking on a cell phone. In a recent survey conducted by Sprint, 67% of cell phone users use their backlight to look for things in the dark.

India is the second highest number of cell phones in the world with about 400 million sets. Roughly, this means 1 in every 3 people owns a mobile phone, which is a drastically smaller proportion compared to the other countries in the top 5. India's economy has greatly benefited from the use of cell phones facilitating business between corporate executive to even weavers and their clients. There are about 13 service providers with Bharti Airtel being the most popular and Vodafone closely trailing behind.

Finally, it is probably not a surprise to find out that China has the most cell phones in the world, with 650 million sets. Several million Chinese own multiple phones that are specific for business or personal use. Speaking in numbers, this means that a little less than half of the Chinese population owns a cell phone. China is also home to the world's largest service provider, China Mobile, with 450 million subscribers on one network. The government in Beijing is trying to break China Mobile's apparent monopoly on the wireless industry by introducing more formidable competitors in the service provider arena.