If you also pick up your mobile first thing in the morning as soon as you open your eyes, use your phone all day long for social media, videos, chatting or work and even look at the screen for the last time before sleeping at night, then you are not alone. Smartphones have become the most important part of people’s lives all over the world. Meanwhile, a global report has revealed that people of which countries spend the most time on mobile every day. This list is dominated by the countries of Africa, Asia and South America, while Ghana is at the first place, where people use smartphones for 5 hours 43 minutes daily. India is at 19th place in this ranking and people here use mobile phones for an average of 3 hours 57 minutes per day, which is more than the global average. The report also shows that people check their phones an average of 58 times a day and spend about two months of the year just looking at the mobile screen. In such a situation, the question is who are included in the top 10 countries of the world and where does India stand in this ranking.
Ghana number-1, Asia and South America dominate in top-10
According to the DataReportal 2024 report, the country with the highest number of smartphone users in the world is Ghana. People here spend an average of 5 hours 43 minutes on mobile every day. In second place is the Philippines, where the average screen time is 5 hours 21 minutes. Brazil is at third place, South Africa is at fourth place and Thailand is at fifth place. The special thing is that in the top-10, four countries are from South America, three from Asia and two from Africa. It is clear from this that smartphones have become the biggest part of people’s everyday life in these areas.
India in top-20, but out of top-10
According to DataReportal report, India is at 19th place in this list. Indians use smartphones for an average of 3 hours 57 minutes every day. This time is 6 minutes less than last year, when the average screen time was 4 hours 3 minutes. However, despite the decline, India is still among the countries in the world where the average time spent on mobile is more than 3 hours 46 minutes. That means the screen time of Indians is about 11 minutes more than the global average. According to EY reports, in 2026, an average smartphone user in India will spend about 5 hours every day on the mobile screen. Indians together will use smartphones for approximately 1.1 trillion hours in 2024. About 70% of total mobile time is spent on social media, video streaming and mobile gaming. In 2026, India will be among the countries with the highest number of mobile users in the world, while the number of digital usage and internet users is continuously increasing.
Daily smartphone use in countries of the world (Q3 2024)
| rank | Country | Average daily screen time |
| 1 | ghana | 5 hours 43 minutes |
| 2 | philippines | 5 hours 21 minutes |
| 3 | Brazil | 5 hours 12 minutes |
| 4 | South Africa | 5 hours 11 minutes |
| 5 | Thailand | 5 hours |
| 6 | chile | 4 hours 58 minutes |
| 7 | kenya | 4 hours 57 minutes |
| 8 | Colombia | 4 hours 47 minutes |
| 9 | malaysia | 4 hours 42 minutes |
| 10 | argentina | 4 hours 40 minutes |
| 11 | Indonesia | 4 hours 38 minutes |
| 12 | uae | 4 hours 27 minutes |
| 13 | Mexico | 4 hours 20 minutes |
| 14 | saudi arabia | 4 hours 17 minutes |
| 15 | egypt | 4 hours 9 minutes |
| 15 | taiwan | 4 hours 9 minutes |
| 17 | Russia | 4 hours 7 minutes |
| 18 | turkiye | 4 hours 4 minutes |
| 19 | India | 3 hours 57 minutes |
| 20 | Israel | 3 hours 53 minutes |
| 21 | Nigeria | 3 hours 49 minutes |
| – | global average | 3 hours 46 minutes |
| 22 | bulgaria | 3 hours 44 minutes |
| 23 | serbia | 3 hours 40 minutes |
| 23 | romania | 3 hours 40 minutes |
| 25 | portugal | 3 hours 38 minutes |
| 26 | China | 3 hours 32 minutes |
| 27 | morocco | 3 hours 25 minutes |
| 28 | America | 3 hours 22 minutes* |
| 29 | croatia | 3 hours 21 minutes |
| 30 | vietnam | 3 hours 20 minutes |
| 31 | poland | 3 hours 18 minutes |
| 32 | New Zealand | 3 hours 17 minutes |
| 32 | Singapore | 3 hours 17 minutes |
| 34 | sweden | 3 hours 13 minutes |
| 35 | ireland | 3 hours 11 minutes |
| 36 | norway | 3 hours 2 minutes |
| 37 | Hungary | 3 hours |
| 38 | Australia | 2 hours 58 minutes |
| 39 | Netherlands | 2 hours 55 minutes |
| 40 | Czechia | 2 hours 55 minutes |
| 41 | hong kong | 2 hours 54 minutes |
| 41 | Italy | 2 hours 54 minutes |
| 41 | spain | 2 hours 54 minutes |
| 44 | Canada | 2 hours 46 minutes |
| 45 | Switzerland | 2 hours 44 minutes |
| 46 | Greece | 2 hours 43 minutes |
| 46 | south korea | 2 hours 43 minutes |
| 48 | Germany | 2 hours 42 minutes |
| 49 | Britain | 2 hours 39 minutes |
| 49 | austria | 2 hours 39 minutes |
| 50 | France | 2 hours 34 minutes |
| 51 | belgium | 2 hours 32 minutes |
| 52 | denmark | 2 hours 27 minutes |
| 53 | Japan | 1 hour 47 minutes |
Europe and America behind, Asia-Africa ahead
The most interesting thing in the report is that not a single country from Europe and North America is included in the top-10 list. On the contrary, the dominance of the countries of Africa, Asia and South America is seen. In Asian countries like Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, people are using mobile phones for around five hours daily. At the same time, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Argentina of South America have also been successful in making place in the top-10.
Japan has the lowest number of mobile phones
While in many countries people are using mobile phones for more than five hours, Japan is different in this matter. According to the report, people of Japan use smartphones for only 1 hour 47 minutes every day. This is almost half the world average. Apart from this, in countries like France, Britain, Germany, Denmark and Canada, the screen time has been recorded to be much less than India.
The phone comes in hand 58 times a day
The report shows that people around the world check their smartphones an average of 58 times. Out of these, about 30 times i.e. 52 percent the phone is viewed during working hours. Most often people answer the phone for less than two minutes. According to the data, 69 percent of mobile sessions are less than two minutes, 26 percent are between two and ten minutes and only 5 percent of the sessions are longer than 10 minutes. It is clear from this that the habit of repeatedly looking at the phone increases the screen time to several hours.
Two months of the year are spent only on mobile
According to the report, a person around the world uses a smartphone for an average of 4 hours 37 minutes every day. This means that about 70 days in a year are spent only on mobile screens. Whereas in India, people spend about 60 days of the year on smartphones on an average of 3 hours and 57 minutes every day. This shows that mobile is no longer just a medium for communication, but has become the most important medium for work, entertainment, social media, banking and everyday needs.
Screen time took a huge leap in America
According to the report, smartphone use has increased rapidly in America. Americans will spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes a day on smartphones in 2026. This is 14 percent more than in 2024, when the average screen time was 4 hours 37 minutes. This means that an American spends about 80 days a year just looking at the mobile screen, whereas a year ago this figure was about 70 days. Increasing screen time has increased concerns there too and now more than half of Americans want to reduce their mobile use.
Key figures of smartphone use in America
| parameters | figure |
| Average daily screen time | 5 hours 16 minutes |
| Increase compared to 2024 | 14 percent |
| Screen time in a year | about 80 days |
| want to reduce mobile usage | 53 percent Americans |
| consider themselves mobile dependent | 52 percent Americans |
| Use phone even in toilet | 59 percent |
| message at traffic signal | 27 percent |
Americans are also troubled by mobile addiction
The report shows that people’s concern about the increasing screen time in America is also increasing. About 53 percent of Americans want to reduce their smartphone use, which is 33 percent more than in 2023. At the same time, 52 percent people believe that they have become excessively dependent on mobile phones. According to the report, 59 percent of Americans use phones even in the toilet, while 27 percent people send messages even while the vehicle is stopped at a traffic signal. It is clear from this that smartphones have now become not only a habit of people but also a part of their everyday lifestyle.
Gen Z uses mobile the most
In America, a big difference was also seen in screen time between people of different ages. According to the report, Jenji uses smartphone for an average of 6 hours 27 minutes daily, which is the highest among all age groups. After this, Millennials use mobile for an average of 5 hours 28 minutes. Whereas the average of the next generation is 4 hours 48 minutes and that of Baby Boomers is 4 hours 19 minutes. That means young people are spending the most time on smartphones.
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