Mobile's share of web traffic drops by 10% YoY

Over the past ten years, mobile’s share of web traffic has quadrupled, with today more than half of total web browsing done on mobile devices. But after a decade of continuous growth, 2023 brought an unexpected decline.

RELATED: Nigeria registers highest mobile web traffic at 83%

According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, mobile phones made 52.8% of total web traffic in 2023, or nearly 10% less than last year.

Mobile Phones` Web Traffic Share Drops while Laptops and PCs See a Double-Digit Increase

According to Statista, the number of smartphone users in the world hit 6.92 billion this year, meaning more than 85% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. This shows a massive increase from 2016 when the world counted roughly 3.7 billion smartphone users, or 49.4% of that year’s global population. This massive user base has helped mobile’s share of web traffic to quadruple in the past decade.

According to DataReportal Digital 2023 October Global Statshot Report, mobile phones made up only 12.6% of total web traffic ten years ago. Five years later, this figure jumped to 50%. Although growth rates have significantly slowed down since then, mobile phones still increased their share of total web traffic to 59% last year. However, 2023 brought an unexpected decline, with mobile phones` web traffic share falling to 52.8%.

The DataReportal survey also showed that as mobile’s share of web traffic dropped, laptops and PCs saw a double-digit increase. Statistics show laptops and PCs made 44.95% of total web traffic in 2023, or 14.5% more than last year. Like mobile phones, tablets also witnessed a downturn, with their share plunging by 12.4% year-over-year to 1.83%. Other devices, such as gaming consoles, made up only 0.4% of web traffic, but this still represents a massive 1,233% increase year-over-year.

Mobile’s Share of Web Traffic is the Lowest in Western Countries

Although the global mobile’s share of web traffic now stands at 52%, there are still significant differences between the regions and countries. According to a DataReportal survey, Vietnam had by far the highest share of mobile internet traffic at 83.1% in 2023. Nigeria and South Africa follow, with 83% and 79%, respectively.

Statistics also show mobile’s share of web traffic is the lowest in Western countries. The United Kingdom and Germany were both below the world average, with 45.9% and 42% shares, respectively.

According to the survey, mobile phones were the least used for web browsing in Denmark, the United States, and Norway, where only 26.6%, 30.2%, and 30.4% of total web traffic came from mobile phones.