This statistic shows a comparison of the average daily mobile data usage per user in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, and Brazil in 2015. In 2015, Brazilian users consumed an average of 4.75 megabytes of mobile data per day.

The statistic shows the average monthly mobile data use per active SIM in the United Kingdom (UK) between March 2011 and June 2017. In June 2017, the average mobile data use per active SIM was 1.9 GB per month.

As of March 2024, the share of time spent using the internet on smartphone devices among users in the United Kingdom (UK) was approximately 75 percent. Internet usage via smartphone was the highest amongst UK users aged between 25 and 44 years old, 83 percent. Tablet devices had the largest engagement among users aged between 65 and over, while the share of time spent accessing the internet via PC or laptop devices was highest among UK users aged 75 and over.

This statistic shows the average monthly mobile data use per capita in selected European nations in 2016. During this period, monthly mobile data usage in Sweden amounted to 5.7 Gigabytes, which was the highest among the selected nations. This was followed by Poland and the United Kingdom (UK), with 2.9 and 1.7 Gigabytes respectively.

In 2023, users in the United Kingdom spent an average of three hours and 50 minutes per day using their mobile devices. This represents a decrease from the over four hours that users in the country spent on their smartphones during 2021 and 2022. Between 2019 and the end of 2022, daily time spent on mobile in the UK experienced a slow but constant increase, while in 2023 the trend normalized to the levels it had before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From September to November 2023, Google.com was the leading website in the United Kingdom with more than 4.98 billion monthly visits. The search engine was also popular in its UK top-level domain, with Google.co.uk reaching 255 million views and placing tenth in the ranking. YouTube and Facebook were the most visited social media platforms, ranking second and fourth most visited websites in the country.

During the third quarter of 2024, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent an average over five and a half hours per day accessing the internet via any device. UK online audiences spent approximately one hour and 37 minutes per day on social media, while an additional 50 minutes were devoted to using a gaming console daily. Traditional media - is usage declining? Some forms of traditional media in the country are in decline more than others when it comes to usage, which is especially visible in the case of TV. In recent years the number of TV households in the UK has remained fairly unchanged, however, the time spent watching television has been constantly decreasing. Interestingly, radio listenership has not followed this trend. Digital radio format usage is growing as per some studies. Yet, live radio dominates the time spent with any audio in the UK by a large margin.British radio is a showcase for the loyalty of its fans. In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. He took both of his signature programs to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of a million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023.

This statistic illustrates methods used to access mobile internet in the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU 28) in 2019. Mobile internet access via laptop or notebook device in the UK was above EU average, at 56 percent penetration.

How much time do people spend on social media? As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively. People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general. During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

A reported 95.3 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) population were using the internet in 2022, the same share as 2021.Internet users in Great Britain 46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set in 2016. 41.8 million people in Great Britain used the internet on a daily basis during 2016, the first time the amount cracked the 40 million mark. Methods of accessing the internet In a survey conducted during early 2018, Ofcom found that 48 percent of the 2,392 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is higher in the UK than the EU average, however, as of February 2021, desktop searches still managed to account for the most of the search engine activity in the UK.

Smartphones have pulled away from laptops to become the most important device used to access the internet for close to half of those accessing the internet in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020. In 2020, significantly more people identified smartphones as their most important device for accessing the internet, compared with those that nominated each of the large display formats combined.

Increasing use of mobile data

As phone displays and mobile data infrastructure improve, mobile phone users are consuming more data than ever before. From 2015 to 2018, the volume of data consumed in the UK increased from 7.29 million gigabytes to 211 million gigabytes. The average consumption per sim card has increased from .87 GB to 1.9 GB over the same period. Despite the increase in consumption, mobile service providers have not seen an increase in revenue from data services, generating 1.73 billion British pounds in 2017, exactly the same amount as they generated from mobile data services in 2010.

Next-gen communications  

4G currently offers the fastest means of downloading data using a mobile device, but 5G looks set to blow 4G out of the water in the coming years. Once 5G capable devices are more widely available and more affordable, it is expected that there will be 155 million 5G subscribers in Western Europe by 2024. 

In 2023, children in the United Kingdom spent an average of 127 minutes per day on TikTok. This was followed by Instagram, as children in the UK reported using the app for an average of 40 minutes daily. Children in the UK aged between four and 18 years also used Facebook for 15 minutes a day on average in the measured period.

Mobile ownership and usage among UK children In 2021, around 60 percent of kids aged between eight and 11 years in the UK owned a smartphone, while children aged between five and seven having access to their own device were approximately 30 percent. Mobile phones were also the second most popular devices used to access the web by children aged between eight and 11 years, as tablet computers were still the most popular option for users aged between three and 11 years. Children were not immune to the popularity acquired by short video format content in 2020 and 2021, spending an average of 97 minutes per day engaging with TikTok, as well as over 50 minutes on the YouTube app in 2021.

Children data protection In 2021, 37 percent of U.S. parents and 44 percent of UK parents reported being slightly concerned with their children’s device usage habits. While the share of parents reporting to be very or extremely concerned was considerably smaller, children are considered among the most vulnerable digital audiences and need additional attention when it comes to data and privacy protection. According to a study conducted during the first quarter of 2022, 76 percent of children’s apps hosted in the Google Play Store and 67 percent of apps hosted in the Apple App Store transmitted users’ locations to advertisers.

Additionally, 42 percent of kids’ apps were found to collect persistent identifiers, such as users’ IP addresses, which could potentially lead to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) violations in the United States. In the United Kingdom, companies have to take into account several obligations when considering online environments for children, including an age-appropriate design and avoiding sharing children’s data.

In 2021, WhatsApp's user base in the United Kingdom amounts to approximately 40.23 million users. The number of WhatsApp users in the United Kingdom is projected to reach 38.35 million users by 2025. User figures have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

The average revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile customers in Europe has fallen since 2011, reaching an estimated 14.7 euros per month in 2021. The figure is forecast to remain at this level through to 2025.

Shrinking costs yet rising use of mobile broadband

The decline of mobile broadband ARPU can partially be attributed to high competition and increased usage of data over voice. The cost of data associated with messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, whose popularity has been on the rise, is relatively low compared to the cost of voice calls – resulting in a decline of total ARPU.

Despite this decrease in mobile ARPU, data makes up an increasingly important part of the mobile communication landscape. Mobile data traffic has skyrocketed in countries like the UK, and the gap between mobile and fixed call minutes has been increasing since 2011.

5G on the horizon   

The rise of 5G mobile networks in addition to 3G and 4G will only enhance the use of mobile broadband. Offering even minimum data speeds over 20 Mbps faster than 4G, as well as a much greater maximum bandwidth, 5G is set to revolutionize mobile data not just for consumers, but also for a range of commercial and industrial applications. By 2027, it is expected that the number of 5G connections will grow to nearly 664 million in Europe alone.

As of February 2025, China ranked first among the countries with the most internet users worldwide. The world's most populated country had 1.11 billion internet users, more than triple the third-ranked United States, with just around 322 million internet users. Overall, all BRIC markets had over two billion internet users, accounting for four of the ten countries with more than 100 million internet users. Worldwide internet usage As of October 2024, there were more than five billion internet users worldwide. There are, however, stark differences in user distribution according to region. Eastern Asia is home to 1.34 billion internet users, while African and Middle Eastern regions had lower user figures. Moreover, the urban areas showed a higher percentage of internet access than rural areas. Internet use in China China ranks first in the list of countries with the most internet users. Due to its ongoing and fast-paced economic development and a cultural inclination towards technology, more than a billion of the estimated 1.4 billion population in China are online. As of the third quarter of 2023, around 87 percent of Chinese internet users stated using WeChat, the most popular social network in the country. On average, Chinese internet users spent five hours and 33 minutes online daily.

According to a survey of parents and children in the UK conducted in 2024, 98 percent of children between 16 and 17 years old owned a smartphone, while 73 percent of respondents aged between three and four did not have a mobile phone. Electronic devices available to children Mobile phones are not the only devices children are exposed to daily. At home, indeed, they have access to all kinds of electronic devices, such as TVs, gaming consoles, and radios. For instance, in 2020, 84 percent of children had access to a smart TV, and 85 percent had a game console. Furthermore, 90 percent of children in the UK had access to a PC, laptop, or netbook with an internet connection. Children’s online activities British children perform many different activities online, with mobile phones being the most used devices to go online. Among the most recurring online activities were playing games and watching videos, especially on YouTube. Furthermore, children in the UK appear to spend quite some time on social media platforms, like TikTok and Snapchat, where they spend on average 97 and 82 minutes daily, respectively.

As of May 2024, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent over three hours daily on smartphones. Young consumers aged between 18 and 24 years reported spending over four and half hours of their online time on smartphones. The same audience spent around 40 minutes using tablets, and 46 minutes on computer devices each day while accessing the internet. The internet usage among individuals aged 65 and over was relatively lower, as they spent less than two hours daily using internet on smartphones, and even less than an hour on computer and tablet devices.

As of June 2023, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent around 4.2 hours daily accessing the internet via any device. Mobile devices engaged UK users way longer than tablets or laptops, with over three hours spent daily accessing the internet via smartphones.

Demographics – Statistical data on Japan population, households, businesses, nominal GDP, nominal GDP per Capita, consumer price inflation, exchange rates (local currency and US dollar) Japan mobile services penetration covering: Main lines, mobile users, mobile subscriptions by type and mobile data users Mobile data users by application – messaging and applications Mobile usage by: voice MOU, average monthly SMS and average monthly MMS Total mobile revenues including messaging and applications. Read More

46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set one year prior. There were 41.8 million daily internet users in Great Britain during 2016, marking the first time this amount had exceeded 40 million.

Internet access in the UK

While the vast majority of households in the UK are able to go online, 7 percent of all households was without an internet connection as of 2019, according to the ONS. Eurostat estimate the figure to be higher, at 96 percent of households with an internet connection, above the EU average of 90 percent.

Methods of accessing the internet

In a survey conducted during early 2020, Ofcom found that 60 percent of the 2,419 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is indeed high in the UK compared to the EU average, and as of January 2020 accounted for the majority of activity for search engines in the UK.