Ericsson: Middle East Mobile Penetration Rate Higher Than Global Average

A new report from Ericsson, has revealed that the Middle East has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world, with 96 percent of the population having access to mobile communications. In comparison, global mobile penetration currently stands at 82 percent.

Ericsson’s November 2011 Traffic and Market Data report also revealed that the number of new connections in the Middle East grew by three percent in the third quarter of 2011 alone, with the number of connections increasing to 244 million. Significantly, the region saw more growth in mobile penetration during this time than North America and Western Europe combined with 7.7 million new mobile subscriptions added between July and September 2011. Comparatively, 3.6 million new subscriptions were added in North America and 3.1 million in Western Europe.