First Surge in Mobile Internet Usage Overtaking Desktops, Bolstered by Emerging Markets

For the first time in global internet history, the scales have tipped in favor of mobile over traditional devices. According to fascinating data provided by the renowned web analytics firm, StatCounter, 51.3 percent of global web access last month was mobile – via smartphones and tablets, overshadowing the 48.7 percent accounted for by desktops and laptops.

This shift signifies a monumental transformation in our online habits. It has motivated tech giants, such as Google, to contemplate a separate and more advanced search index exclusively for mobile users. This shift aims to enhance future mobile searches, potentially yielding far superior results compared to traditional computing searches.

Under the umbrella of mobile and tablet usage, accounting for the 51.3 percent of web visits, smartphones alone comprised a staggering 48.7 percent. With tablet visits only representing 4.73 percent, it’s clear that smartphones are set to dominate as our primary portal to the internet for years to come.

Just recently, we highlighted that an impressive 88 percent of smartphones in the global market run on Android and the primary reason for this is cost-effectiveness. As smartphone ownership ascends, so too does the number of people with internet access – a socially significant correlation.

However, an intriguing observation within the StatCounter data is that a significant proportion of the mobile traffic originated from developing rather than developed nations. For instance, in the United States, more users accessed the internet via desktop than mobile.

Evidence showed that 58 percent of web visits in the United States came from traditional computing platforms, leaving mobile devices and tablets to account for the remaining 42 percent. In the UK, it’s 55.6 percent for desktops versus 44.4 percent for mobile, and in Australia, 55.1 percent for desktop versus 44.9 percent for mobile. Ireland observed a 57.6 percent desktop usage compared to 42.4 percent mobile usage.

This should serve as an urgent twitch on the figure of businesses globally – a compelling call to ensure their websites are optimized for mobile friendly user experiences. This data underlines that emerging and developing markets are the commanding pioneers lighting the way for the mobile internet era. Expert projections anticipate nearly 400 million smartphones to be in use on the African continent alone by 2027.

Ericsson predicts that almost three-quarters of the world’s population will be smartphone users by 2020. Moreover, nearly 80 percent of smartphone subscriptions added between 2015–2020 will come from Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. This goes a long way in explaining the mushrooming growth in mobile usage, especially concerning internet usage. The Asia Pacific region represents approximately 40 percent of the global economy, while Africa boasts growth rates significantly exceeding other regions. Given such robust progress, it’s highly anticipated that mobile internet figures will continue to swell well into 2020 and beyond.

StatCounter Global Stats is a prodigious world data provider, gauging over 15 billion page views every month across more than 2.5 million websites.

*This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.*