Top Australian Mobile Phone Statistics 2022

The average mobile phone data usage in Australia puts the country in second place in mobile phone usage, following the USA. The numbers at hand indicate that Australia makes a highly fruitful market for phone usage, and among a variety of age groups and consumer types.

Below, let’s have a look at the latest Australian mobile phone statistics—the good, the bad, and everything in-between.

Current Australian Smartphone Statistics

With 79.60% smartphone usage of the overall population in Australia, it's obvious that Aussies are heavily dependent on their smartphones.

Also, 64% of the adult population in Australia uses smartphones before going to sleep, which is a crucial fact pointing to Australia’s heavy dependence on smartphones.

The number of users is on a constant increase, and experts foresee 21.1 million user numbers by 2025. Currently, in 2022, the numbers are expected to reach approximately 2.8 million smartphone users.

These numbers not only suggest that Aussies embrace the future of mobile phones rapidly, with the average mobile data usage in Australia expected to rise to 19.27 million users.

They also earned Australia the second smartphone penetration rate in the world with 79.60%, breathing down USA's neck with a rate of 81.90%.

These numbers validate the notion that Australia has an embedded tradition of using smartphones, and the younger generations are more immersed in the trends as well

In terms of the popularity of brands, the most used mobile phone manufacturer is still Apple, marking 55.86% of all iPhones purchases in Australia alone. Additionally, more than 10.53 million people use iPhones in Australia

The general screen time of the Australian population takes nearly 17 years of their lifetime staring at their phones.

8% of their interactions take place while driving. This leads to an alarming statistic suggesting that 22% of car accidents are caused as a result of mobile phone usage when driving.

Australian Smartphone Statistics: Age Groups

- Adults between the age of 45 and 54 spend up to 100 hours online via their phones.

- Young smartphone users, 18 to 24 years old, spent 66 hours online.

- Interestingly, 33% of Aussies aged between 6 and 13 years, are already using smartphones.

Australian Phone Statistics: Prepaid vs. Postpaid Contracts

Most Aussies opt for the Postpaid deals because they offer more profitable options. In numbers:

- According to the most recent Roy Morgan Research telecommunications statistics, conducted in 2019, 6.2 million Australians aged 14 and above (32%) own a prepaid mobile phone, which they recharge every 7 weeks on average.

- Postpaid connections accounted for around 69% of all mobile subscriptions in Australia as of January 2021.

Mobile Phone Usage in Australia and User’s Health

The last millennial generation and Gen Z are part of the rise of social media. Here, statistics show that the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), is the key reason why smartphones are so popular and in demand.

- 71% of teenagers spend 5 or more hours on social media a day

- 44% of Australian parents aged 18-34 are worried about the effects of screen time on their children’s eyesight, compared to the 28% of older Australian parents aged 55+.

- People suffering from Nomophobia were 11.7 times more likely to have a problematic phone addiction and 10.3 times more likely to use their phone in a banned area, such as a library, school, or theatre. They were also 14 times more likely to participate in risky behaviour, such as driving, cycling, or walking.

- 32% of young Australians (18-34) claim that blue light from computers and smartphones is an issue for their eyesight.

- 1 in 7 Aussies suffers from arthritis and constantly using the phone significantly worsened the situation.

- A not-so-favourable statistic notes that Australia's addiction to smartphones increased the possibility of suicide among the younger population. Teenagers who spend more than 5 hours on their phones daily as prone to suicide by 71%.

- By the end of 2021, 13.2% of the Australian population developed nomophobia (read: no mobile phone) which poses a severe threat to developing more advanced mental illnesses, not just social anxiety.

Australian Mobile Phones and Overall Usage Habits

Here is an overall look at how Australians manage their mobile phone usage:

- In 2019, the Mobile Network Experience Report in Australia has shown that the 4G network availability would rise as the three main operators provided a 4G signal to the smartphone users 90% of the time

- Around 55% of Aussies said that they prefer online surfing over the phone instead of on their computers or laptop

- 53% of Aussies connect to the internet over 5 times daily, while 20% of the population registered over 15 times a day.

- 82% of Aussies use their phones for communication with closest relatives, and friends at least once a week

- 45% of the population uses mobile phones for watching TV, while 23% of the population binge-watching TV series

- 2.9 million Aussies use mobile phones to trade cryptocurrency and NFTs

- 6 in 10 Australian households replaced phone books, calculators, cameras, calendars, alarm clocks, and stopwatches with their phones.

Australian Smartphone Statistics: Positive Effects

Although there are many negative notions about the over-dependence on smartphones, some Australians find their phones helpful. In fact:

- 18% of the Aussies use mobile devices to track their health and fitness goals. This helped them have a better insight into their physical health quality. Aussies improved their well-being with these health and fitness devices.

Another viable reason is staying updated. Aussies check their phones for the latest trends, happenings, and news instead of watching TV.