A comparison of real-time data from mobile network analysis firm US Census Bureau reveals that the number of active Sim cards surpassed the number of humans some time in the last few weeks. The number of active mobile devices currently stands at 7.22 billion, whilst there are fewer than 7.2 billion people.
The speed at which the global mobile network is growing suggests that the crossover occured somewhere around the 7.19 billion mark. The human population is growing at 1.2% annually, which comes in at about two people per second. The number of devices, on the other hand, is multiplying at a rate five times that.
"No other technology has impacted us like the mobile phone. It’s the fastest growing manmade phenomenon ever – from zero to 7.2 billion in three decades," said Kevin Kimberlin, Chairman of Spencer Trask & Co. Spencer Trask backs Millicom, a startup company that has partnered with Facebook and Internet.org to bring mobile connections to the developing world.
Leonard Gubar, Director of Millicom, hailed the mobile phone as "miraculous." He said: "Today, you can do everything with a mobile phone." Including playing a big part in social change and political events, as in the Arab Spring and currently in Hong Kong.