Saudi Arabia occupied the first rank among the countries with the highest proportion of mobile phone users in the world with a ratio of 188%, followed by Vietnam and Oman in the second and third places respectively, according to a study.
The study conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD) indicated that this percentage is by far the highest when compared to the other Arab Gulf states which in turn filled advanced positions in the list with Oman being ranked second with a rate of 165%, followed by Kuwait (160%) and the UAE (145%) respectively.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has scored a high growth percentage in the number of mobile phone users between the years 2005 and 2010. This proportion duplicated three times over this five year period, while it did not exceed a ratio 59% in 2005,” Salem Alenzi, the Mobile Channels Company’s (MCC) General Manager, said.
“It is remarkable that the Arab Gulf states occupied the world’s first ten positions in the list. This can be attributed to the positive economic situation which these countries are witnessing and the increasing number of consumers with high purchasing power, besides the growing presence of foreign workers who constantly communicate with their employers and countries of origin,” he added.
The specialized report also revealed that the number of mobile phone users is escalating among teenagers and nine-year-old children, and that this trend is chiefly driven by the widespread use of the Internet in the Saudi community. The study explained that the Internet is the main source for hundreds of thousands of the most frequently downloaded applications and programs on smart devices which enable users to browse the web content including social networking sites, business applications, data processors, chat programs, protection tools, games and much more.
Alenzi highlighted the economic aftermaths of the high rates of mobile phone use in the area which, in turn, led to introducing new companies specialized in developing electronic work environments while inspiring old firms, with sound recording and TV production businesses being on the top, to revolutionize their existing electronic platforms to keep pace with the latest mobile phones.
According to Alenzi, the demand for smart phone applications whose market share amounts to almost $12 billion is expected to rise within the few coming years in light of the widespread of low-cost 3G and 4G smart phone devices and the availability of country-wide telecommunication networks offering high connectivity and download speeds for smart devices.