eMarketer: Emerging markets have become the region with the highest number of smartphone users in Asia Pacific

The smartphone penetration rate in developed countries is still higher.

In absolute terms, developed markets still lead the Asia-Pacific region in mobile connection penetration, including mobile phones, smartphones and mobile Internet, but high growth rates in emerging markets make the region a significant part of the world mobile market.

eMarketer estimates that South Korea and Japan will have the highest mobile phone penetration in the region this year, both at 86.0%, including people who own or use a smartphone or non-smartphone at least once a month. Australia has the highest penetration rate at 84.0%. China will have 80.0% of its population owning a mobile phone this year.

In smartphones, the difference is even more pronounced. More than two-thirds of South Koreans use smartphones this year, compared with 60% in Australia, a slightly larger majority in Japan, and just 10.0% in India. Faster growth in India and Indonesia will narrow the gap, but the nearly 55-point gap between South Korea and India's smartphone penetration levels will remain in 2018.

However, scale plays a big role. Most smartphone users in the Asia-Pacific region are in China. India ranks second, but it is far behind China in terms of users, accounting for only 13.0% of the population. Developed markets such as South Korea have a relatively small population, so in terms of total smartphones, the country's contribution to the region is only 3.6%, and Australia only has 1.4%, which pales in comparison with emerging markets.

199IT compiled from //www.emarketer.com/Article/Asia-Pacific-Emerging-Markets-Grab-Highest-Smartphone-User-Shares/1010938/7