Within the next six years, 90 per cent of the worlds population over the age of six will own a mobile phone, a new report has estimated.

The continuing strong growth in smartphone penetration is largely thanks to emerging markets and countries like China and India, where cheaper handsets are enabling large portions of the population who could not previously access mobile phones to afford one.

The figures come from Ericssons latest Mobility Report, which analyses data traffic worldwide to provide in-depth measurements from the worlds largest selection of live networks.

The report also predicted that mobile video traffic is set to increase tenfold by 2020, and will constitute around 55 per cent of all mobile data traffic by the end of the decade.

“Around the world, smartphone uptake has continued at a strong pace,” said Peter Jonsson, project manager for Ericsson, in the report. “These devices accounted for 65-70 per cent of all mobile phones sold in Q3 2014, compared to around 55 per cent during Q3 2013. And it doesnt show any sign of slowing down.

“Of all mobile phone subscriptions today, around 37 per cent are associated with smartphones, leaving considerable room for further uptake.”

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