Global Mobile Phone Market
How many phones are produced & sold globally every year
The global mobile phone market remains huge, though growth has plateaued in recent years.
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According to one source, global mobile phone sales (including all mobile phones) reached about 1,844.8 million units in 2024.
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More specifically for smartphones: shipments in 2022 were ~1.39 billion units.
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On production volumes: It is estimated that in 2024 the global mobile phone production was about 2.1 billion units.
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In terms of subscriptions/devices in operation: by end of 2024 global mobile phone subscriptions reached ~8.66 billion, and smartphone subscriptions ~7.13 billion.
So: globally, over 1.5-2 billion devices are sold/produced each year in recent years.
Which countries are the top manufacturers
Manufacturing (assembly and production) is heavily concentrated in a few countries.
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The country dominating mobile-phone production is China. One data point: in 2024 China produced about 1.3 billion units, accounting for ~59% of total production.
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More recent data: China ~67 % of global production, India ~12 %, Vietnam ~10 %, South Korea ~5 %.
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For example: “India is now the 2nd largest mobile phone producer (12 % share) behind China (67 %).”
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India’s domestic manufacturing has ramped up significantly.
Hence, while China remains the powerhouse, countries like India and Vietnam are increasingly important.
Which countries consume the largest numbers of mobile phones
On the demand/consumption side, a few markets stand out.
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One source lists sales by country in 2024: China ~537.5 million units, India ~214.7 million, US ~160 million.
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Another source finds consumption in China ~454 million units (for all mobile phones) in 2024, accounting for ~23 % of total volume.
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So China is the largest single market by units. India follows as a large volume market.
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In terms of users: smartphone users by country: China leads with over ~900 million smartphone users.
Thus, major consumption is in large-population countries, especially in Asia-Pacific.
What is the total market size of mobile phones globally
There are slightly different ways to measure “market size” (units vs value).
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In terms of revenue: The global mobile phone market size (for producers + importers) was estimated at US$ 361.3 billion in 2024.
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Older data: roughly US$ 462 billion in 2022.
So the market size in value is in the hundreds of billions of dollars per annum, with slight decline/flat in recent years.
What is the market of used phones in the world
The “secondary” market (used/refurbished phones) is becoming significant.
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According to a report from International Data Corporation (IDC): the used smartphone market (shipments) in 2022 was ~282.6 million units, up from ~253.4 million in 2021.
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The value of the used smartphone market in 2023 was about US$ 72.9 billion.
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It is forecast to reach ~US$ 99.9 billion by 2026.
So the used/refurbished market is large, growing and an important piece of the wider mobile-phone ecosystem.
What about the market in South Asia
Focusing on South Asia (which includes countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka) gives some interesting angles:
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In India: As mentioned above, India is a major consumer (and manufacturer) of mobile phones. For example, in 2024 India reportedly sold ~214.7 million smartphones.
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Manufacturing: India has grown rapidly as a manufacturing hub (see section 2).
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On used/refurbished devices: While I did not find detailed public data specifically for Nepal or smaller South Asian countries, one source places Asia-Pacific (which includes South Asia) as leading the used/refurbished market, with India being ~28% of that segment in the region.
Thus in South Asia, the mobile-phone market (both new and used) is quite active and arguably among the fastest-growing.
Summary & key take-aways
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The global mobile phone industry still moves over a billion units per year (both in production and sales) though growth is modest.
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Production is heavily concentrated in China (≈60-70% of output) plus India, Vietnam, South Korea.
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Consumption is dominated by large populous markets: China is the largest by volume; India is growing fast.
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The total market value is several hundred billion dollars annually.
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The used/refurbished phone segment is large (tens of billions of dollars) and growing—an important channel especially in emerging markets.
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In South Asia, the new-phone market is robust and manufacturing is growing; the used/refurbished channel is also expanding though data is less granular for all countries.
Why this matters
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For manufacturers & supply-chain: Understanding where phones are made and consumed influences logistics, component sourcing and risk management.
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For investors & market watchers: The used phone sector may offer important growth opportunities (as new-phone growth slows).
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For emerging markets like South Asia: Lower-cost and refurbished devices can help accelerate digital inclusion.
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For policy makers: Domestic manufacturing (as in India) becomes a question of industrial strategy, jobs and trade.
