Photographs: Reuters
Mobile phones have become an inevitable part of our lives. As mobile phone users continue to rise, the number of active mobile phone users is expected to hit 7.3 billion by 2014, from 6 billion active users according to International Telecommunications Union.
Interestingly, there are 100 countries where the number of phones is much higher than their total population, thanks to people owning multiple cell phones.
China with over 1 billion active mobile phone users is the world's largest market for phones. However, in terms of mobile phone per capita, China does not figure among the top 10.
Mobile phone per capita is the estimated number of mobile phone lines per 100 people. It is also known as the mobile phone penetration rate.
Click on NEXT to take a look at the top 10 countries in terms of mobile phone per capita according to Indexmundi's ranking...
Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: Sun reflects off the glass and steel buildings on the Doha skyline.Photographs: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters.
Qatar
Rank: 1
Mobile phone per capita: 279.5
(Mobile phone per capita is the number of mobile phone lines per 100 people)
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: A trader speaks on the phone as he monitors stocks at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the Dubai World Trade Center.Photographs: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters.
United Arab Emirates
Rank: 2
Mobile phone per capita: 227.7
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: Saint Kitts and Nevis.Photographs: Courtesy,stkittstourism.kn.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Rank: 3
Mobile phone per capita: 210.81
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: A man takes pictures of hotels and casinos with his mobile phone in Macau.Photographs: Tyrone Siu/Reuters.
Macau
Rank: 4
Mobile phone per capita: 197.55
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: A cargo ship is seen at the Pedro Miguel lock on the pacific side of the Panama Canal in Panama City.Photographs: Carlos Jasso/Reuters.
Panama
Rank: 5
Mobile phone per capita: 193.31
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: Property sales agents chat at their office in Hong Kong.Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters.
Hong Kong
Rank: 6
Mobile phone per capita: 190.16
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: Sailboats in the British Virgin Islands.Photographs: PB/Wikimedia Commons.
British Virgin Islands
Rank: 7
Mobile phone per capita: 187.66
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: A view showing parts of St. John's on the Caribbean island of Antigua.Photographs: Andy Clark/Reuters.
Antigua and Barbuda
Rank: 8
Mobile phone per capita: 185.24
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: A man smokes a cigar as he walks along Seven Mile Beach in George Town, Cayman Islands.Photographs: Gary Hershorn/Reuters.
Cayman Islands
Rank: 9
Mobile phone per capita: 185.08
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Mobile phones per capita: The top 10 nations
Image: Presidential palace, Suriname.Photographs: Ian Mackenzie/Wikimedia Commons.
Suriname
Rank: 10
Mobile phone per capita: 184.93
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