Text messaging--or as it is popularly known "SMS" (Short Messaging Service)--continues to play an important role in the mobile ecosystem. Some five trillion text messages were sent by mobile users around the world in 2011. Growth has slowed as alternative means of communications such as WhatsApp, Twitter, etc. emerge. Nevertheless good old text messaging remains popular since it is widely available on virtually any handset, does not require a data plan and can be linked to popular applications such as Facebook or Twitter. Three countries--the United States, China and the Philippines--accounted for half of all SMS sent in 2011.
Available data on messaging revenue suggest that the average revenue per SMS is a little over one US cent. That suggests that worldwide text message revenue was worth around US$60 billion in 2011.
The volume of SMS translates into an average of 2.5 sent per day in 2011. The average disguises tremendous differences in text messaging across nations. The average Filipino subscriber sends over 15 messages per day whereas in Kenya the equivalent figure is less than one.
The number of text messages sent reflects the intensity of use. Volumes vary depending on several factors including costs, preference for other applications, and the user's language and character set. Therefore apart from the intensity of use, it is also useful to understand what proportion of mobile users send text messages. A 21 country survey carried out in 2011 found that Indonesia ranked top with 96% of mobile owners sending SMS. The average (median) value was 75%.
Percentage of mobile users who send text messages, 2011
Indonesia 96
Kenya 89
Lebanon 87
Poland 85
Mexico 82
Japan 81
China 80
Britain 79
Lithuania 79
France 77
Russia 75
Israel 73
Ukraine 72
Egypt 72
Spain 70
U.S. 67
Turkey 64
Jordan 63
Germany 56
India 49
Pakistan 44
MEDIAN 75
Pew Research Center. 2011. Global Digital Communication: Texting, Social Networking Popular Worldwide.
http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/12/20/global-digital-communication-texting-social-networking-popular-worldwide/
The cost of terminating SMS across networks impacts the retail price and the ability to offer unrestricted flat rate messaging packages. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has published data on wholesale costs of delivering a text message to another network in Europe. Ranges from 1.2 to 8.6 US cents.
SMS Termination Rates in Europe (US cents), January 2011
Turkey 1.2 ¢
Lithuania 1.9 ¢
Malta 2.2 ¢
Cyprus 2.3 ¢
UK 2.3 ¢
Poland 2.7 ¢
France 2.7 ¢
Romania 3.0 ¢
Iceland 3.2 ¢
Denmark 3.6 ¢
Greece 4.0 ¢
Ireland 4.2 ¢
Macedonia 4.3 ¢
Italy 4.4 ¢
Portugal 4.6 ¢
Slovak Rep. 4.9 ¢
Latvia 5.6 ¢
Norway 5.8 ¢
Belgium 6.6 ¢
Hungary 6.7 ¢
Estonia 6.8 ¢
Finland 7.3 ¢
Spain 8.2 ¢
Switzerland 8.6 ¢
MEDIAN 4.2 ¢
Adapted from: BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications). SMS Benchmark snapshot (as of January 2011). BoR (11) 36
Source: ICTData.org
Updated 21 Jan. 2013
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The volume of SMS translates into an average of 2.5 sent per day in 2011. The average disguises tremendous differences in text messaging across nations. The average Filipino subscriber sends over 15 messages per day whereas in Kenya the equivalent figure is less than one.
Top 10 countries by SMS/month 2011
1 Philippines 470
2 United States 286
3 Canada 259
4 Venezuela 257
5 Malaysia 223
6 Korea (Rep.) 216
7 Turkey 212
8 France 196
9 Ireland 191
10 UK 155
The number of text messages sent reflects the intensity of use. Volumes vary depending on several factors including costs, preference for other applications, and the user's language and character set. Therefore apart from the intensity of use, it is also useful to understand what proportion of mobile users send text messages. A 21 country survey carried out in 2011 found that Indonesia ranked top with 96% of mobile owners sending SMS. The average (median) value was 75%.
Percentage of mobile users who send text messages, 2011
Indonesia 96
Kenya 89
Lebanon 87
Poland 85
Mexico 82
Japan 81
China 80
Britain 79
Lithuania 79
France 77
Russia 75
Israel 73
Ukraine 72
Egypt 72
Spain 70
U.S. 67
Turkey 64
Jordan 63
Germany 56
India 49
Pakistan 44
MEDIAN 75
Pew Research Center. 2011. Global Digital Communication: Texting, Social Networking Popular Worldwide.
http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/12/20/global-digital-communication-texting-social-networking-popular-worldwide/
The cost of terminating SMS across networks impacts the retail price and the ability to offer unrestricted flat rate messaging packages. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has published data on wholesale costs of delivering a text message to another network in Europe. Ranges from 1.2 to 8.6 US cents.
SMS Termination Rates in Europe (US cents), January 2011
Turkey 1.2 ¢
Lithuania 1.9 ¢
Malta 2.2 ¢
Cyprus 2.3 ¢
UK 2.3 ¢
Poland 2.7 ¢
France 2.7 ¢
Romania 3.0 ¢
Iceland 3.2 ¢
Denmark 3.6 ¢
Greece 4.0 ¢
Ireland 4.2 ¢
Macedonia 4.3 ¢
Italy 4.4 ¢
Portugal 4.6 ¢
Slovak Rep. 4.9 ¢
Latvia 5.6 ¢
Norway 5.8 ¢
Belgium 6.6 ¢
Hungary 6.7 ¢
Estonia 6.8 ¢
Finland 7.3 ¢
Spain 8.2 ¢
Switzerland 8.6 ¢
MEDIAN 4.2 ¢
Adapted from: BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications). SMS Benchmark snapshot (as of January 2011). BoR (11) 36
| SMS/SUB/MONTH Latest (2009-2011) | |
| Philippines | 470 |
| United States | 286 |
| Canada | 259 |
| Venezuela | 257 |
| Malaysia | 220 |
| Korea (Rep.) | 216 |
| Turkey | 212 |
| Pakistan | 198 |
| France | 196 |
| Ireland | 191 |
| United Kingdom | 155 |
| Cyprus | 149 |
| Denmark | 143 |
| Argentina | 137 |
| Portugal | 135 |
| Lithuania | 134 |
| Sweden | 122 |
| Belgium | 120 |
| Oman | 110 |
| Malta | 107 |
| Uruguay | 102 |
| Singapore | 98 |
| Norway | 97 |
| Indonesia | 93 |
| Poland | 93 |
| Mauritius | 88 |
| Montenegro | 88 |
| Brazil | 81 |
| Australia | 81 |
| St. Kitts & Nevis | 80 |
| Italy | 80 |
| China | 79 |
| Serbia | 79 |
| Mexico | 75 |
| Bosnia | 55 |
| Switzerland | 54 |
| Luxembourg | 51 |
| Croatia | 49 |
| Czech Republic | 48 |
| Netherlands | 46 |
| Greece | 44 |
| Hong Kong | 44 |
| Austria | 44 |
| Finland | 41 |
| Slovenia | 40 |
| Iceland | 40 |
| El Salvador | 35 |
| India | 34 |
| Moldova | 32 |
| Dominica | 32 |
| Germany | 32 |
| Romania | 27 |
| United Arab Emirates | 25 |
| Colombia | 24 |
| Slovak Republic | 21 |
| Taiwan | 19 |
| Macedonia | 19 |
| South Africa | 17 |
| Bangladesh | 15 |
| Hungary | 15 |
| Grenada | 14 |
| Macao | 13 |
| Estonia | 13 |
| Morocco | 12 |
| Spain | 12 |
| Peru | 11 |
| St. Vincent | 11 |
| Kenya | 9 |
| St. Lucia | 9 |
| Chile | 9 |
| Jamaica | 9 |
| Togo | 8 |
| Bulgaria | 5 |
| Mali | 5 |
| Cape Verde | 3 |
Updated 21 Jan. 2013
4 comments:
In Top 10 countries by SMS/month 2011 -- #3 should be China not Canada. Right?
Canada is indeed ranked 3rd in the world for the number of SMS sent per subscriber per month. It originated 78 trillion SMS in 2011 for 25 million subscribers. Although China ranked second in the world for the number of SMS sent in 2011 (879 trillion), the average Chinese mobile subscriber sent 79 per month in 2011, ranking it 32nd in the world. This is down from a peak of 98 in 2008.
Is it possible to see the full list of countries ranked on number of texts sent/sub/month?
I've updated post to include all available data.
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