What percentage of internet traffic is mobile in 2023?

Internet traffic hit an exponential growth following the invention of personal computers that made web browsing possible within the comforts of a person’s home.

The dot-com boom further increased attention to the internet, only to see it collapse in the early 2000s. 

No other catalyst has emerged since then, not until Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in June 2007.

The world’s first renowned smartphone has built-in applications, advanced graphics, and the best part?

It can connect to the internet.

For the first time, regular users stopped turning to their PCs to search for something they are curious about.

The rest has become history.

In this article, we will take you to a different view of internet search—using the perspective of a mobile phone user.

Mobile Traffic Stats: What Percentage of Internet Traffic is Mobile in 2023?

Most likely, you are reading this article using a mobile phone.

Many are curious about how much web traffic is mobile, given that smartphones have become our go-to devices when it comes to doing activities on the web. 

Recent data shows that 58.26% of all search traffic on internet-based websites come from mobile devices.

This means more than half of all searches made on websites are executed through our thumbs.

Gone were the days when people had to turn the PC on and wait for the Windows prompt to load to search for something that clinched our fancy.

In just a swipe of a hand, our inquiry is right before our eyes.

Mobile Internet Traffic from 2012 to 2022

In the stretch of 10 years, global internet traffic from mobile devices drastically grew from 10%, and now trailing closely below 60%.

Take a look at this data on mobile web traffic from 2012 to the present.

• 2012 – 10.88% traffic share 
• 2013 – 17.02% traffic share
• 2014 – 28.97% traffic share
• 2015 – 37.24% traffic share
• 2016 – 45.91% traffic share
• 2017 – 54.09% traffic share
• 2018 – 53.01% traffic share
• 2019 – 52.26% traffic share
• 2020 – 53.07% traffic share
• 2021 – 56.53% traffic share
• 2022 – 58.26% traffic share

Internet traffic from mobile has come a long way from its early years in 2012, where it controlled only 10% of the overall market.

During the same time, desktop internet traffic ruled without question and captured nearly 90% of all activities.

Mobile search grew steadily in the following years, and it surpassed the 50% threshold for the first time in 2017. 

Smartphone Penetration by Country 

The popularity of mobile search is thanks to the increasing penetration of smartphones, which allows users to search using the internet instantly, in almost every country worldwide.

Below is data on smartphone penetration by country and the number of users in each.

• China – 865 million smartphone users from its total population of 1.4 billion, currently the highest in the world. This translates to a penetration rate of almost 60%
• India – 606 million smartphone users from its total population of almost 1.4 billion. This translates to a 43.5% penetration rate
• United States – 240 million smartphone users from its total population of 330 million. This translates to a 72.1% penetration rate
• Indonesia – 178 million smartphone users from its total population of 276 million. This translates to a 64.8% penetration rate
• Brazil – 131 million smartphone users from its total population of 213 million. This translates to a 61.6% penetration rate
• Russia – 102 million smartphone users from its total population of 145 million. This translates to a 70.1% penetration rate
• Japan – 94 million smartphone users from its total population of almost 126 million. This translates to a 75.2% penetration rate
• Mexico – 77 million smartphone users from its total population of 130 million. This translates to a 59.4% penetration rate
• Nigeria – 72 million smartphone users from its total population of 211 million. This translates to a 34.1% penetration rate
• Philippines – 67 million smartphone users from its total population of 111 million. This translates to a 60.7% penetration rate

Top Smartphone Companies Worldwide

Credits: unsplash.com

Take a look at the ranking and market share of the world’s top smartphone companies.

As of the first quarter of 2022, Samsung still leads the board, having captured 23% of the total market share.

• Samsung – 23% of the total
• Apple – 18% of the total
• Xiaomi – 12% of the total. Xiaomi has displaced Huawei, which used to alternate between the second or third spot before the company got blacklisted in the US market in 2019
• OPPO – 9%
• Vivo – 8%

Other smartphone companies race to get a share of the remaining 30%.

Users Like it Mobile Friendly

Most of the internet content today is specifically tailored to suit mobile readers.

This is why some sentences of this article are divided into chunks of bite-sized information to make it easier to read for our readers like you.

More than half of internet users said they refrain from using a site not suitable for mobile browsing, and those that load longer than usual.

According to a survey, even just a second of delay on a website reduces the conversion rate by 7%. That is a lot of money lost!

Conclusion

There you have the answer to what percentage of web traffic is mobile. It is 58.26%!

Mobile website traffic has grown fast and steadily since 2012 when it only captured 10% of the total market. 

Searching the internet using a mobile device comes with many advantages.

With just a click, you are directed to the information you want to know without having to turn a device on and wait for it to load.

Similarly, the increasing number of smartphone users fuels positive sentiment toward mobile browsing.

The majority of people in the world now use their phones to post, search, and do activities on the web.

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