2.39bn people – or 32.3 per cent of the world’s population – will have used a smartphone by the end of the year, up from 29.5 per cent in 2016.

According to eMarketer, Denmark will have the highest rate of smartphone adoption with a penetration rate of 77.3 per cent. High penetration rates in Scandinavia are a theme due to their wealthy, digitally advanced populations. Norway will have the third highest penetration rate at 75.6 per cent, while Sweden sits in fourth at 73.7 per cent. The top five is rounded out by Taiwan in second at 75.8 per cent and Singapore at 73 per cent.

The biggest surges in smartphone usage will take place in India and Vietnam this year, with both of the Asian countries are expected to see their user bases grow by nearly 20 per cent. Despite this, neither sits in the top 25 countries for smartphone penetration.

Overall, international smartphone penetration is expected to grow to 40 per cent by 2021.

“As device and data plans become more affordable, smartphone use is growing quickly in developing markets while reaching saturation in developed markets,” said Jamie Chung, forecasting analyst at eMarketer.

eMarketer also forecasts that just under 47 per cent of the global population will use the internet this year. This is predicted to reach just under 54 per cent by 2021.