Tefficient’s 47th public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 40 countries where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew year-on-year in all markets, but Hong Kong’s usage was flat.
Latvia new leader
In the absence of 2025 data from Saudi Arabia, Latvia emerges as the usage leader.
Growth rates stabilised
After the sharp slowdown between 2023 and 2024, usage growth rates have largely stabilised. Half of the markets recorded faster growth in 2025 than in 2024. Among the countries analysed, Portugal posted the highest annual increase at 37%. No market experienced a decline in usage, although growth in Hong Kong was close to zero.
Tefficient’s 46th public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 40 countries where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew year-on-year in most markets, but Turkey and Qatar recorded declines.
Saudi Arabia remains the usage leader and Latvia the runner-up, although statistics for both countries aren’t available for the first half of 2025.
Growth deceleration decelerated
After the sharp slowdown from 2023 to 2024, usage growth rates have largely stabilised. However, more than half of the countries had slower growth in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Among the countries reported, Portugal posted the highest annual increase at 32%.
31% failed – often operating from a low-usage position
In Tefficient’s 45th public analysis of mobile data trends, 116 operators are ranked based on metrics such as average data usage per subscription, total data traffic, and revenue per gigabyte.
Converting data usage growth to ARPU growth – not that simple
Tefficient’s 44th public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 40 countries, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew year-on-year in every country, with Saudi Arabia maintaining its position as the usage leader and Latvia emerging as the new runner-up.
Growth decelerated again – also in GB terms
However, growth rates have decelerated. Greece recorded the highest annual increase at 38%, while Croatia posted the lowest at just 2%. Even in absolute terms [incremental GB per subscription], most countries experienced slower growth in 2024 than in 2023. Overall, the demand for additional mobile data is weaker than ever – although FWA is included in most figures.
Tefficient’s 43rd public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 39 countries, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew in every country year-on-year, with Saudi Arabia remaining the usage leader.
Growth rates decelerated
However, growth rates have decelerated – Greece saw the highest increase at 55%, while Croatia and Finland posted just 5%.
In Tefficient’s 42nd public analysis of mobile data trends, 123 operators are ranked based on metrics like average data usage per subscription, total data traffic, and revenue per gigabyte.
In 2023, 93% of operators experienced growth in data usage per subscription, with 71% of them successfully converting this into higher ARPU.
Tefficient’s 41st public analysis of mobile data development and drivers compares 39 countries worldwide, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew in 38 of these, with Bahrain as the only exception.
Finland no longer leads in usage
For the first time since 2013, Finland doesn’t lead in usage. Saudi Arabia is the new world leader with more than 45 GB per average subscription in 2023.
During the early days of 5G, the mobile industry was sometimes caught saying that mobile – with the help of 5G – would kill Wi-Fi. That hasn’t happened, obviously. Usage of public Wi-Fi hotspots would likely decline if more users had mobile data plans that are unlimited in volume. T-Mobile suggested it in this blog post from December 2021.
Blog from T-Mobile US mentioning that 13% fewer Magenta MAX users are connecting to Wi-Fi.
But even if so, few users would stop using their Wi-Fi at home. Home is where Wi-Fi connects automatically and where a majority of usage takes place.
Ironically, the greatest use case for 5G so far is to substitute fixed broadband. 5G has encouraged many MNOs globally to, for the first time, seriously push fixed wireless access, or FWA, services using their mobile networks. Why is it ironic? The mobile industry has for more than a decade specified and built 5G, the most advanced and best mobile technology so far, but its primary use case to date is fixed. Sitting still.
Airtel India’s Xstream AirFiber.
While FWA could substitute a fixed broadband connection, especially DSL and cable, it does not substitute Wi-Fi, though. The FWA router converts 5G into Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi, not 5G, remains the interface to the connected devices in the home.
So while we, already, are tired of our own headline and the whole notion of “Wi-Fi vs. 5G”, we need to check the facts. After all, we are Tefficient and believers in data.
Tefficient’s 40th public analysis of mobile data development and drivers compares 47 countries worldwide, including M2M/IoT in the total bases. Mobile data usage grew in 44 of them, with Austria, Bahrain and China being exceptions.
If you’d rather see the analysis excluding M2M, go here.
When usage grows, the growth rates are slowing. Cyprus, however, had an astonishing growth rate of 123%, in stark contrast to much slower growth rates, or even declines, elsewhere.
Tefficient’s 39th public analysis of mobile data development and drivers compares 39 countries worldwide, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew in 38 of them – with Bahrain as the only exception.
If you’d rather see the analysis including M2M, go here.
When usage grows, the growth rates are slowing. Portugal leads with a growth rate of 47%, contrasting with Taiwan‘s modest 8% growth. Bahrain experienced a decline of 6% in data usage.
Data-only subscriptions continue to dominate average mobile data usage, although their market share remains limited. Latvia‘s average data-only subscription consumed 138 GB per month in 2022 while Austria recorded 115 GB in the first half of 2023. In the FWA-only category, Australia had a remarkable 334 GB per month in 1H 2023.
While data-only drives traffic, the same can’t be said for 5G
Reporting is imperfect, but there are only three countries with disproportionately high 5G traffic in relation to their 5G bases: South Korea, Austria and Saudi Arabia. We explain what these countries do and what other countries are missing.
