MUMBAI: A recent global media intelligence report conducted by eMarketer and Starcom MediaVest Group says that nearly 2.5 billion of the world‘s 4.3 billion mobile phone users this year will be in Asia-Pacific.

The report by eMarketer estimates that 2.43 billion people in Asia-Pacific will use a mobile phone at least monthly this year, translating to 56.3 per cent of the world’s mobile phone users. More than one billion of these mobile users will be in China alone, and about half that number will reside in India. By 2017, eMarketer estimates, Asia-Pacific will have nearly three billion mobile phone users out of a total 5.1 billion across the globe.

The most astounding of these figures in Asia-Pacific’s trajectory is its smartphone user growth. In 2009, Asia-Pacific had just 86.2 million smartphone users. This year, Asia-Pacific will have more than four times as many smartphone users— 738.2 million total—than the next largest region in that category, Western Europe, which will have 161.1 million by the end of the year, and North America, which will have 152.2 million.

Advertisers are lining up to reach these users, many of whom are part of a rising middle class across several emerging markets in the region. eMarketer estimates spending on mobile internet ads, including display and search but excluding messaging-based formats, will reach $4.14 billion across the region this year, up from $2.69 billion in 2012.

That will represent 26.2 per cent of all mobile internet ad spending in the world, making Asia-Pacific second only to North America by this metric. The region is expected to lose share in the coming years, however, as mobile internet ad spending in Western Europe grows more quickly.

Overall, Asia-Pacific will account for 27.7 per cent of total media ad spending and 28.7 per cent of digital ad spending in the world, ranking it second for both types of ad expenditure.

The global media intelligence report is eMarketer‘s largest and most comprehensive snapshot of the state of media usage and spending globally. The report contains more than 700 charts collected from more than 150 global research sources, which SMG helped identify and gather for local and core global markets, in addition to benchmarks, analysis and context provided by eMarketer.

Key figures on Asia-Pacific media usage and spending from the report include:
Population: 3.94 billion in Asia-Pacific this year, up from 3.75 in 2008.
Internet Users: 1.21 billion this year, from just 583 million in 2008.
Mobile phone users: 2.4 billion this year, up from 1.56 billion in 2008.
Smartphone Users: 738.2 million this year, up from 86.2 million in 2008.
Social Network Users: 777 million this year, up from 195 million in 2008.
Total ad spending: $143.23 billion in 2013, up from $120 billion in 2008.
Digital ad spending: $33.76 billion in 2013, up from $13 billion in 2008.
Mobile ad spending: $4.14 billion this year, up from $745 million in 2008.