In 2002, there were just two countries in the world — Israel and Luxembourg — with mobile cellular penetration of over 100 per cent. Now, 97 countries have achieved this mark, while 17 countries have crossed the penetration levels of 150 per cent.
Those which crossed the 150 per cent mark include Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Libya, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Maldives, according to statistics released by International Telecom Union (ITU), the UN body that governs issues related to global telecommunications.
ITU said mobile spread in the developing world reached 70 per cent at the end of 2010, with Africa clocking 45.2 per cent and Asia-Pacific 69 per cent. Europe registered 118 per cent and the Americas 94.5 per cent.
Internet spread
The number of Internet users is growing very fast globally. Internet penetration reached 30 per cent in 2010. In 2000, the penetration was below one per cent in 72 countries. After 10 years, there were only six countries that have less than one per cent penetration.