Photographs: Claro Cortes/Reuters
There were 12.4 million mobile-phone subscribers all across the world in 1990, but this figure jumped to more than six billion in 2011, according to Wikipedia.
Let's take a look at 30 countries, including India, that have most mobile phones.
Source: Wikipedia
China
Number of mobile phones: 1.04 billion
Population: 1.35 billion
Number of phones as percentage of population: 75.32 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 1
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A woman talks on a mobile phone as she stands near a wood carving at a hotel lobby in New Delhi.Photographs: Kamal Kishore/Reuters
India
Number of mobile phones: 861.66 million
Population: 1.22 billion
Number of phones as percentage of population: 70.42 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 2
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: People talk on their mobile phones in New York City, United States.Photographs: Keith Bedford/Reuters
The United States
Number of mobile phones: 327.57 million
Population: 310.86 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 103.9 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 3
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Miss Mexico 2011 Karin Ontiveros jokes with a boy as she takes a photograph in Sao Paulo, Brazil.Photographs: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
Brazil
Number of mobile phones: 263.04 million
Population: 192.37 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 136.7 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 4
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: St Nicholas (Nikolskaya) Tower, left, and the History Museum, right, in Moscow's Red Square, Russia.Photographs: Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters
Russia
Number of mobile phones: 256.11 million
Population: 142.90 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 155.5 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 5
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: An aerial view of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.Photographs: Supri/Reuters
Indonesia
Number of mobile phones: 236.80 million
Population: 237.55 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 109.28 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 6
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A computer screen is reflected in the glass window of a booth where a broker monitors the market while talking on a mobile phone at the Karachi Stock Exchange in Pakistan.Photographs: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Pakistan
Number of mobile phones: 122.06 million
Population: 178.85 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 68.83 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 7
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan.Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Japan
Number of mobile phones: 121.24 million
Population: 127.62 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 95.1 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 8
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view shows the skyline of old city of Potsdam, south of Berlin, Germany.Photographs: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Germany
Number of mobile phones: 107.00 million
Population: 81.88 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 130.1 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 9
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Fishermen prepare their nets as they sail during sunset in Puerto Galera province of Oriental Mindoro, some 120km southwest of Manila, the Philippines.Photographs: Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters
The Philippines
Number of mobile phones: 106.98 million
Population: 94.01 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 113.8 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 10
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A clock at Lagos Cathedral Church strikes at 12 noon, in Nigeria.Photographs: Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters
Nigeria
Number of mobile phones: 101.27 million
Population: 140.00 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 72.3 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 11
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: People watch a puppet show as they celebrate Pohela Boishakh, the first day of Bengali new year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Photographs: Andrew Biraj/Reuters
Bangladesh
Number of mobile phones: 98.47 million
Population: 148.09 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 68 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 12
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of residential buildings in north western Tehran, Iran.Photographs: Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters
Iran
Number of mobile phones: 96.16 million
Population: 73.97 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 130 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 13
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Hot air balloons fly over the Metropolitano park during the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Leon, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.Photographs: Mario Armas/Reuters
Mexico
Number of mobile phones: 92.90 million
Population: 112.32 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 82.7 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 14
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Trams travel in downtown Milan, Italy.Photographs: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters
Italy
Number of mobile phones: 88.58 million
Population: 60.09 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 147.4 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 15
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Two women walk along the Millennium footbridge crossing the River Thames towards St Paul's Cathedral in central London, United Kingdom.Photographs: Andrew Winning/Reuters
The United Kingdom
Number of mobile phones: 75.75 million
Population: 61.61 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 122.9 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 16
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Seafood vendors walk at a fishing port in Cam Pha town in Quang Ninh province, 200km from Hanoi, Vietnam.Photographs: Kham/Reuters
Vietnam
Number of mobile phones: 72.30 million
Population: 90.54 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 79 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 17
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A man rides bicycle as he makes his way along a snow-covered sidewalk near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.Photographs: John Schults/Reuters
France
Number of mobile phones: 72.18 million
Population: 63.57 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 114.2 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 18
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of the Nile River flowing through the Egyptian capital Cairo.Photographs: Aladin Abdel Naby/Reuters
Egypt
Number of mobile phones: 92.64 million
Population: 82.12 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 112.81 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 19
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view shows the beach town of Pattaya, nearly 150km east of Bangkok, in Thailand.Photographs: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters
Thailand
Number of mobile phones: 69.00 million
Population: 65.00 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 105 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 20
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of Istanbul's financial district in Turkey.Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters
Turkey
Number of mobile phones: 66.00 million
Population: 71.51 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 92.2 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 21
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of downtown Kiev, capital of Ukraine.Photographs: Gleb Garanich/Reuters
Ukraine
Number of mobile phones: 57.50 million
Population: 45.57 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 126.0 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 22
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Apgujeong Rodeo Street in the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea.Photographs: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters
South Korea
Number of mobile phones: 52.51 million
Population: 48.58 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 108.1 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 23
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of Agbar Tower, left, in Barcelona, Spain.Photographs: Albert Gea/Reuters
Spain
Number of mobile phones: 50.89 million
Population: 45.82 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 111.0 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 24
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of the Buenos Aires' 9 de Julio Avenue with the Obelisk in the background in Argentina.Photographs: Enrique Marcarian/Reuters
Argentina
Number of mobile phones: 50.40 million
Population: 40.13 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 125.6 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 25
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of Warsaw, capital of Poland.Photographs: Peter Andrews/Reuters
Poland
Number of mobile phones: 47.15 million
Population: 38.18 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 123.48 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 26
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: An illuminated Christmas decoration of an angel overlooks Bogota city in Colombia.Photographs: John Vizcaino/Reuters
Colombia
Number of mobile phones: 46.14 million
Population: 45.39 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 101.6 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 27
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: Waves crash the shoreline of Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, in South Africa.Photographs: Steve James/Reuters
South Africa
Number of mobile phones: 59.47 million
Population: 50.58 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 117.6 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 28
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A view of the Jardin Essai botanical garden at Hamma in Algiers, Algeria.Photographs: Louafi Larbi/Reuters
Algeria
Number of mobile phones: 33.00 million
Population: 35.00 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 94.2 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 29
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30 countries that have most mobile phones
Image: A woman walks along a street at a market in Kinmen County. Kinmen, near Xiamen, China, is a small archipelago of several islands administered by Taiwan.Photographs: Nicky Loh/Reuters
Taiwan
Number of mobile phones: 28.61 million
Population: 23.19 million
Number of phones as percentage of population: 123.33 per cent
Global rank in number of mobile phones: 30
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