Around 66 percent of the population in New Zealand were active mobile social media users in 2018. This share seems likely to continue to increase, with more and more of the population embracing social media across various digital platforms each year.

Mobile phone market

Most New Zealanders have a smartphone. In fact, smartphone penetration in the country is estimated to be around 92 percent as of 2022. Post-paid mobile phone connections made up the majority of mobile subscriptions in the country in 2021. The leading mobile phone providers included Vodafone, Spark and 2degrees, with a combined market share of over 90 percent.

Mobile social media

While social networks like YouTube and Facebook continue to dominate the social media scene, one of the most popular mobile activities was messaging. Social messenger apps, such as Facebook messenger and Snapchat, have become increasingly popular compared to SMS text messaging across the country.

In the 2022 financial year, the average monthly mobile data usage in New Zealand amounted to 4.86 gigabytes. This value has increased considerably over the past decade, as mobile internet has become more accessible to consumers in the country.

This statistic shows smartphone usage in New Zealand in 2015, by age group. That year, about 84 percent of the people in New Zealand aged between 35 and 44 years used a smartphone.

This statistic shows how smartphone users in New Zealand used their device for online product research in 2015. During the survey period it was found that 36 percent of respondents in New Zealand had compared products, prices or features online via smartphone.

This statistic shows a ranking of the most common smartphone activities in New Zealand as of March 2015. During the survey period it was found that 61 percent of smartphone users in New Zealand utilized their device for its alarm function.

In 2023, Apple was the leading smartphone vendor in New Zealand, with a 46.4 percent share. Samsung came second, with a 34.6 percent share. Mobile market in NZ In 2021, the number of mobile phone connections per 100 population in New Zealand was about 114, indicating more mobile subscriptions than people in the country. The mobile phone retail revenue reached almost three billion New Zealand dollars in the same year. The main mobile service providers were Spark, Vodafone, and 2degrees. Smartphone usage New Zealanders use their smartphones frequently for everyday activities such as online shopping, streaming media, and video calling. Accordingly, the average monthly mobile data usage has continued to increase across the country. In terms of consumer spending on apps, mobile gaming was by far the largest category.

New Zealand NZ: Internet Users: Individuals: % of Population data was reported at 88.470 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 88.223 % for 2015. New Zealand NZ: Internet Users: Individuals: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 61.405 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 88.470 % in 2016 and a record low of 0.000 % in 1990. New Zealand NZ: Internet Users: Individuals: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank: Telecommunication. Internet users are individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc.; ; International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database.; Weighted average; Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data.

This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted by Cint on the types of operating systems on smart phones used for personal purposes in New Zealand between 2017 and 2018. In 2018, 56.04 percent of respondents in New Zealand stated they use a Google Android-based operating system on their personal smart phone.

In 2023, Android was the leading mobile operating system in New Zealand, with a market share of almost 53 percent. Android's most significant competitor was Apple's iOS, whose market share has consistently been just under 50 percent over the past few years.

This statistic shows the connected device usage rate in New Zealand as of March 2014. During the survey period it was found that 58 percent of consumers from New Zealand were smartphone users.

From 2013 to 2017, the total number of mobile phone connections in New Zealand has increased steadily, however dropped in 2021 to around 5.9 million connections. Although this statistic also shows a drop in numbers between 2018 and 2019, this was largely due to a change in how one mobile phone operator recorded its subscriber numbers.

In 2022, around 89 percent of the New Zealand population were active social media users. The social media penetration rate has continued to increase, in-line with the growing digitalization of the country. While not the most active country in the Asia Pacific region, New Zealand still ranked in the top ten in terms of social media penetration out of countries from Asia Pacific.

How are Kiwis using social media?

Most of the population use social media on a mobile device. With increasing smartphone usage and accessibility, current global trends look set to establish the standard for mobile-only social media usage in the near future. In fact, many social media services are better experienced on a mobile device.

An average of one hour and 51 minutes per day were spent on social media by internet users in the country in 2020. This is much lower than the approximate four hours per day spent by online users in the Philippines.

Which social media are the most popular?

The most popular social networks in the country included YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. YouTube and Facebook dominated the market, both with over 70 percent penetration rates. Facebook was popular among all age groups, with the highest number of Facebook users in the 25 to 34-year age group. Instagram has gained popularity with younger generations in the country.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the usage of features on mobile phones in New Zealand between 2017 and 2018. In 2018, 3.48 percent of respondents stated that they only use their mobile phone to make calls.

In 2022, the number of mobile phone connections per 100 population in New Zealand was about 116. Although this statistic shows a drop in numbers between 2018 and 2019, this was largely due to a change in how one mobile phone operator recorded its subscriber numbers.

The number of mobile-cellular subscriptions in New Zealand has risen slightly since 2000. From its earliest record of around 1.54 million subscriptions, the number has stabilized in recent years around six million, closing at approximately 6.95 million mobile cellular subscriptions in the country in 2023.

The number of smartphone users in New Zealand was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 million users (+4.01 percent). After the nineteenth consecutive increasing year, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 5.19 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of smartphone users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.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).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like Australia and Fiji.

Between 2019 and 2024, the usage of mobiles at point of sale in New Zealand witnessed an increase of 20 percentage points. In 2019, the share of respondents using mobile payments at POS stood at 12 percent, which increased to 34 percent in 2023. This is according to a question asked throughout multiple surveys from Statista's Consumer Insights. The numbers shown here refer to a rolling 12-month share of respondents who indicated they used a mobile payment device — smartphones, but also smartwatches — in offline shopping areas, such as stores or restaurants.

In 2021, the estimated market share of the mobile phone provider Spark in New Zealand was 41 percent. In this year, Vodafone around 38 percent of the market share.

New Zealand’s telco market

New Zealand is home to one of the most developed, stable, and competitive telecommunication markets in the world, with Spark and Vodafone accounting for two of the main three network providers across the country. The strong economic foundation of the market led to an expansion of the mobile user base and a subsequent growth in smartphone penetration, in-line with advances in telecommunication technology. The country also boasts a nationwide full-fibre wholesale broadband network.

The revenue model The industry witnessed an era of prominence in users opting for pre-paid plans during the early 2000’s. However, the current demographic preference is gradually moving towards post-paid connections, with the share of pre-paid mobile phone connections declining. As the current flag holders of the market, Spark New Zealand Limited obtained most of their revenue through mobile subscriptions. This revenue came from data plans which were among the most expensive in terms of rates per gigabyte of data in the Asia Pacific region. The country is estimated to have one of the lowest download volumes of data, and competitively priced data plans are currently the sole enticing feature for network operators.

As of the second quarter of 2023, the leading smartphone company in New Zealand was Samsung with a market share of 46.6 percent. Apple followed with 36.2 percent of share on the market.

This statistic presents the average daily use of internet in New Zealand as of the fourth quarter of 2016. During the survey period, online users in New Zealand stated that they spent an average of two hours and seven minutes every day on the internet via mobile phone.