80% of smartphones across the world are 4G enabled

Key takeaways

4G smartphones are the most popular globally.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the smallest 4G smartphone adoption, with a 33% market share in the region.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest 5G market share of any region.
5G smartphones are dominant in North America, the highest of any region.
Smartphone market share is reflective of income levels across regions.

4G smartphones dominate globally, making up 80% of mobile devices. North America leads in 5G adoption at 49%, while Europe & Central Asia (22%) and East Asia & Pacific (39%) are also transitioning. In contrast, regions like South Asia (66% 4G) and the Middle East & North Africa (58% 4G) still rely heavily on 4G.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest 4G adoption at 33%, with many still using 3G (37%) and feature phones (28%). This gap highlights how smartphone adoption reflects income levels, with wealthier regions shifting to 5G while others remain reliant on older technologies.

Source:

GSMA State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/3315/" title="80% of smartphones across the world are 4G enabled"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Share-of-device-used-by-mobile-internet-subscribers-across-markets-in-2023.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: 80% of smartphones across the world are 4G enabled"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=80%25+of+smartphones+across+the+world+are+4G+enabled" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

2023

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