Mobile-Only Internet Users Dominate Emerging Markets

ADOTAS – Here’s a little amazing stat to start off the week: According to a new infographic by WebHostingBuzz (which also visualized the 10-most trafficked websites back in May), 5.3 billion of the the 7 billion people occupying this planet are mobile users. That’s 75.6% of the world’s population, although 90% actually have network coverage.

But it also documents an interesting trend that I’ve been talking to with a lot of folks lately — more than 25% of mobile web users in emerging markets connect to the Internet solely through mobile devices. That’s the case for 70% of mobile web users in Egypt, 59% in India and 50% in Nigeria — and only 25% of U.S. and 22% of U.K. mobile web users.

It would seem that tablet devices fall under the realm of mobile, but I’m not sure where WebHostingBuzz files netbooks, which are far more popular in the developing world than desktops and laptops due to their low, low pricepoints. Still, file this data under evidence that newcomers to the Internet in emerging markets will likely skip desktops and laptops and only use mobile devices for getting online.

But the U.S. figure is a big deal too, corroborating signs that the tablet market is cutting into laptop and desktop sales. With the proliferation of tablet devices that are more intuitive to use and much cheaper than PCs ($99 HP Touchpad anyone?), that 25% of mobile-only Internet users is going to keep getting bigger. Advertisers, make sure your ads are optimized.