The Mobile Economy 2025 (GSMA)

Summary

• By 2030 mobile's contribution is expected to reach almost $11 trillion, or 8.4% of GDP.p.20
• By the end of 2024, 58% of the world's population used mobile internet, equating to 4.7 billion users.p.11
• 5G connections worldwide surpassed 2 billion at the end of 2024.p.14
• Operator capex of $1.3 trillion is projected for the period 2024-2030.p.7
• The mobile ecosystem contributed around $600 billion to public funding in 2024.p.21

Key insights

1. Mobile internet subscribers are projected to reach 5.5 billion by 2030, or 64% of the global population.p.12
2. As of December 2024, 305 operators in 121 markets had launched commercial 5G mobile services.p.13
3. With 11.6 million 5G FWA connections, the US is the world's largest 5G FWA market, followed by India at 2.3 million.p.15
4. 72 operator groups had signed up to GSMA Open Gateway, accounting for 78.5% of mobile connections globally.p.18
5. Mobile ARPU growth is projected at a 3% CAGR in low and middle-income countries versus 1% in high-income countries.p.17
6. The mobile ecosystem directly supported 24 million jobs and indirectly around 16 million jobs in 2024.p.21
7. Energy typically accounts for approximately 20% of operators' total operational costs.p.27
8. GSMA Intelligence surveyed nearly 4,200 enterprises across 21 countries and 10 vertical sectors.p.32