Global mobile usage hits 5.3 trillion hours as Nigeria and India surge in rankings

In a digital era defined by hyper-connectivity and the relentless integration of technology into daily life, global smartphone usage has reached unprecedented levels.

According to the latest “State of Mobile 2026” report by Sensor Tower, a leading mobile analytics firm, smartphone users across the globe spent a staggering 5.3 trillion hours on their mobile devices in 2025.

This figure, representing a 3.8% year-on-year increase, underscores the deepening reliance on mobile technology for communication, commerce, entertainment, and productivity.

The report, as cited by Nairametrics, reveals a shifting landscape in digital consumption where developing nations are increasingly becoming the engines of mobile engagement.

Among the standout findings is the inclusion of Nigeria in the top 10 countries by mobile time spent, a testament to the nation’s burgeoning digital economy and its youthful, tech-savvy population.

As the world transitions from the rapid adoption phases seen during the pandemic to a more matured, steady state of engagement, the data offers critical insights into how different regions are navigating the mobile-first world.

While the total time spent online has begun to stabilize in some mature markets, the intensity of usage remains high. On average, the report notes that every person on earth now spends more than 600 hours online annually.

This equates to approximately 3.6 hours per day, or more than 13 minutes of every waking hour, dedicated to mobile screens. This granular look at human behavior highlights a fundamental shift in lifestyle, where the smartphone has transcended its role as a mere communication tool to become the primary interface for navigating modern existence.

Advertisement

The Global Leaders: India Retains the Crown while Nigeria Enters the Elite

The rankings for 2025 paint a vivid picture of where the world’s digital attention is focused. Unsurprisingly, India has maintained its position as the undisputed global leader in mobile engagement.

Indian users collectively spent a colossal 1.23 trillion hours on their devices in 2025, a significant leap from the 1.13 trillion hours recorded in 2024. This dominance is largely attributed to the country’s massive population, affordable data plans, and the rapid digitization of services ranging from payments to entertainment.

However, one of the most notable narratives from the report is the performance of Nigeria. The West African nation saw its mobile users spend 129 billion hours on their devices in 2025, up from 110 billion hours the previous year.

This impressive growth trajectory has firmly placed Nigeria among the global top 10, highlighting the country’s critical role in the African digital ecosystem. The surge in usage is reflective of a broader trend in emerging markets where mobile devices are often the primary, if not the only, gateway to the internet for millions of citizens.

The complete list of the top 10 countries by mobile time spent in 2025 is as follows:

1. India: 1.23 trillion hours (up from 1.13 trillion)
2. Indonesia: 414 billion hours (up from 400 billion)
3. United States: 385 billion hours (up from 370 billion)
4. Brazil: 301 billion hours (down from 311 billion)
5. Russia: 200 billion hours (down from 214 billion)
6. Mexico: 175 billion hours (up from 170 billion)
7. Pakistan: 169 billion hours (up from 152 billion)
8. Philippines: 153 billion hours (up from 147 billion)
9. China Mainland: 148 billion hours (down from 164 billion)
10. Nigeria: 129 billion hours (up from 110 billion)

The data reveals a divergence in trends. While countries like Pakistan and the Philippines joined Nigeria in showing strong, sustained growth, other major markets experienced a contraction. Brazil, Russia, and notably China Mainland all saw a decline in total hours spent.

The decrease in China, the only top-10 market to show a steady decline, suggests a potential saturation point or a shift in regulatory environments that may be curbing screen time, contrasting sharply with the “mobile-first” acceleration seen in South Asia and Africa.

Advertisement

The AI Revolution and the Social Media Stranglehold

A deeper dive into the State of Mobile 2026 report exposes the specific applications that are monopolizing user attention. Social media remains the bedrock of mobile usage, accounting for nearly half of the total time spent globally. In 2025, users spent nearly 2.5 trillion hours on social media apps across iOS and Android platforms.

This averages out to more than 90 minutes per day per person, representing a 5% increase year-on-year. Platforms like TikTok, which saw a 5% growth in time spent, continue to drive this engagement through algorithmic content feeds that encourage prolonged viewing sessions.

However, the most explosive growth was not found in traditional social networking but in the burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence. The report highlights that AI Assistants, a relatively new category in the mobile app ecosystem, have surged in popularity, entering the top 10 subgenres by time spent with a staggering 426% year-on-year growth.

This meteoric rise is epitomized by ChatGPT, which led the charge with a remarkable 254% year-on-year increase in mobile app revenue and a 426% growth in time spent. This shift signals a change in how users interact with their devices; they are moving beyond passive consumption of content to active engagement with productivity tools.

The surge reflects a growing global appetite for tools that streamline daily tasks, offer personalized assistance, and create more interactive experiences. Other apps benefiting from this demand for creative and AI-powered tools include ReelShort (growing 115%) and video editing giants like CapCut (growing 71%).

The implications of this shift are profound. As users become more comfortable with AI interfaces, the nature of “screen time” is evolving from leisure-dominant to utility-dominant. This transition is further evidenced by the growth in “essential” apps alongside entertainment ones.

For instance, WhatsApp Business grew by 14%, and Google Pay by 13%, indicating that for many users in top markets like India and Nigeria, the smartphone is increasingly functioning as a mobile office and a bank branch.

Advertisement

Monetization vs. Engagement: The Economic Divide

While emerging markets like India and Nigeria dominate the charts for time spent, the economic story, that is monetization, tells a different tale. The report makes a crucial distinction between engagement (time spent) and revenue (money spent). While mobile usage is plateauing in terms of time in some developed regions, the efficiency of monetization in those markets is accelerating.

Global in-app purchase (IAP) revenue reached a record $167 billion in 2025, marking a 10.6% year-on-year increase across iOS and Google Play. This revenue growth outpaced the growth in time spent (3.8%), suggesting that mobile publishers are becoming increasingly adept at capitalizing on their loyal user bases through subscriptions, paid apps, and in-game purchases.

The top 10 markets for in-app purchase revenue in 2025 were:

1. United States: $59 billion
2. China Mainland (iOS only): $22.1 billion
3. Japan: $16.8 billion
4. South Korea: $7.19 billion
5. United Kingdom: $6.38 billion
6. Germany: $6.02 billion
7. Canada: $3.98 billion
8. France: ~$3.9 billion
9. Taiwan: $3.44 billion
10. Australia: $3.26 billion

This list presents a stark contrast to the “Time Spent” rankings. None of the top three growth markets for time spent (India, Indonesia, Nigeria) appear in the top 10 for revenue.

This highlights the “monetization gap” that exists in the global mobile economy. Users in the Global South are the most engaged, contributing the most hours to the digital ecosystem, but users in the Global North and East Asia are the ones driving the direct financial turnover of the app stores.

For developers and businesses, this creates a complex strategic landscape. The State of Mobile 2026 report suggests that while user acquisition strategies might focus on high-growth regions like Nigeria and Pakistan to build scale and influence, monetization strategies must still be heavily weighted toward North America, Europe, and East Asia.

However, the sheer volume of hours spent in emerging markets offers a different kind of value—advertising inventory. With billions of hours spent on social media in these regions, the advertising model remains the primary revenue engine for engaging these massive, time-rich populations.

As the lines between digital and physical life continue to blur, the data from 2025 serves as a powerful indicator of future trends. The stabilization of daily usage rates suggests we may be reaching a “peak mobile” saturation point in terms of time, but the depth of that usage is increasing through AI integration and financial transaction volume.

For Nigeria, firmly established now as a top-tier global player in mobile engagement, the challenge and opportunity lie in converting these billions of hours into tangible economic development and digital literacy that goes beyond mere consumption.