2026年移动性别差距报告 The Mobile Gender gap report 2026

ĪHEMoBilE

fENDERfAp

REpoRĪ

202β

G与A

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobile

ecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovation

foundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsand

societalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industry,andsocietythrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthemobileecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:

ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServicesandSolutions,

andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,

tacklingtoday’sbiggestsocietalchallenges,underpinningthetechnologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobile

work,andprovidingtheworld’slargestplatformto

convenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

GSMAConnectedWomen

TheGSMAConnectedWomenprogrammeworkswithmobileoperatorsandtheirpartnerstoaddressthe

barrierstowomenaccessingandusingmobileinternetandmobilemoneyservices.ConnectedWomenaimstoreducethegendergapinmobileinternetandmobilemoneyservicesandunlocksignificantcommercial

opportunitiesforthemobileindustryandsocio-economicbenefitsforwomen.

Formoreinformation,pleasevisit

/connectedwomen

GSMAIntelligence

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,andpublisherof

authoritativeindustryreportsandresearch.Ourdata

coverseveryoperatorgroup,networkandMVNOineverycountryworldwide–fromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemostaccurateandcompletesetofindustrymetrics

available,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleadingoperators,

vendors,regulators,financialinstitutionsandthird-partyindustryplayers,tosupportstrategicdecisionmaking

andlong-terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbytheindustryitself.

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

info@

AtIpsoswearepassionatelycuriousaboutpeople,

markets,brandsandsociety.Wedeliverinformationandanalysisthatmakesourcomplexworldeasierandfastertonavigateandinspiresourclientstomakesmarter

decisions.

Withastrongpresencein88countries,Ipsosemploysmorethan16,000peopleandhastheabilitytoconductresearchprogrammesinmorethan100countries.

FoundedinFrancein1975,Ipsosiscontrolledandmanagedbyresearchprofessionals

Forthisstudy,IpsosworkedwiththeGSMAasafieldworkpartnerand,assuch,isnotresponsiblefortheanalysisorconclusionsinthisreport.

UkInternationalDevelopment

Partnership|Progress|Prosperity

ThismaterialhasbeenfundedbyUKAidfromtheUK

Government;however,theviewsexpresseddonot

necessarilyreflecttheUKGovernment’sofficialpolicies.

ThisdocumenthasbeenfinancedbytheSwedish

InternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency,Sida.

Sidadoesnotnecessarilysharetheviewsexpressedinthismaterial.Responsibilityforitscontentsrestsentirelywiththeauthor.

GatesFoundation

Thisreportisbasedonresearchfundedinpartby

theGatesFoundation.ThefindingsandconclusionscontainedwithinarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectpositionsorpoliciesoftheGatesFoundation.

Leadauthor:EmmaCatalfamo

Contributors:KalvinBahia,EvieGilbert,AbiGleek,BoralbaKapllani,RosieLeary,DominicaLindsey,

ClaireSibthorpe,JakubZagdanski

Fieldworkpartner:Ipsos

Published:June2026

BoNĪENĪs

Introduction

4

Keyfindings

7

Definitions

10

Themobilegendergapin2025

11

Thejourneytomobileinternetuse

20

Thegendergapinmobileownership

Thegendergapinsmartphoneownership

24

26

Thegendergapinmobileinternetadoption

30

Understandingwomen’suseofmobileinternet

34

Spotlight:Perceivedimpactofmobileinternetonlivelihoods

andincome

38

Understandingbarrierstomobileinternetadoptionanduse

42

Awarenessofmobileinternet

47

Barrierstomobileinternetadoptionamongthosewhoare

awareofit

48

Barrierstofurthermobileinternetuseforexistingusers

50

Recommendations

52

Appendices

Appendix1:BarrierstomobileinternetadoptionanduseAppendix2:Usecases

Appendix3:Reportedimpactsofmobileinterneton

livelihoodsandincomeAppendix4:Methodology

55

56

61

62

64

Endnotes

67

INĪRoDuBĪioN

TheMobileGenderGapReport20264

Mobilephonesandmobileinternetcanbelife-changingresources,enablingpeopletoconnectwitheachotherandaccessinformation,healthcare,education,income-generatingopportunities,e-commerceandfinancial

servicesfromanywhere.

In2025,morethan3.2billionpeopleinlow-and

middle-incomecountries(LMICs)accessedtheinternetusingamobilephone.1Mobileisstilltheprimaryway

thatpeopleinLMICsaccesstheinternet,accountingfor84%ofbroadbandconnectionsin2025.2

InLMICs,84%ofwomennowownamobilephone,

64%ownasmartphoneand65%usemobileinternet.

Yetmobileaccessanduseremainunequalamongmenandwomen.AcrossLMICs,womenarestilllesslikely

thanmentohaveaccesstomobilephones,mobile

money,mobileinternetandothermobileservices.

Womenarealsolesslikelytousetheseservicesas

muchasmen.Thisisparticularlytrueforthemost

underservedwomen,includingthosewithlowliteracy

levelsandlowincomesandthosewholiveinruralareasorhaveadisability.

Inlastyear’sreport,wehighlightedthatprogressin

closingthegendergapinmobileinternetadoptionacrossLMICshadstalledafternarrowingslightlytheprevious

year.Ourlatestdatashowsthat,in2025,thisgendergapdecreasedslightlyto12%.Thisreductioncontinuesa

slownarrowingofthegendergapsince2022.

Addressingthemobilegendergapprovidessignificantsocialandcommercialbenefitstoindividuals,societiesandeconomies.Connectivityisintegraltoachievingthe

UnitedNationsSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),includingthoserelatedtohealth,education,climateandfinancialinclusion.GSMAanalysishasestimatedthat

from2023to2030,3closingthegendergapinmobile

ownershipanduseinLMICscoulddeliver$230billioninadditionalrevenuetothemobileindustry,4andclosing

thegendergapinmobileinternetadoptioninLMICs

wouldadd$1.3trillioninadditionalgrossdomestic

product(GDP)overthisperiod.5Mobileaccessand

usecanalsotransformwomen’slives.GSMAresearch

hasshownthatoncewomenusemobileinternet,mostbelieveithasapositiveimpactontheirlivesandtoa

similardegreeasmen.6Mobilecanstrengthenwomen’sresilienceinthefaceofeconomic,climateandpoliticalcrisesandshocks.

InthisnintheditionofTheMobileGenderGapReportseries,wesharethelatestdataonwomen’saccesstoanduseofmobileinLMICs,thebarrierstheyfaceandhowthesefindingscomparetomen.Wealsoshare

recommendationstoclosethemobilegendergapandreachmorewomenwithmobile,includingactionablesuggestionsformobilenetworkoperators(MNOs),

policymakers,regulators,thedevelopmentcommunityandotherstakeholders.

Theworldisbecomingrapidlymoredigital,andthe

accelerationoftechnologieslikeAIiscreatingmore

digitaldivides,makingitmoreessentialthaneverfor

womentoaccessandusemobile.Wemuststrivefor

equalaccessandusesothatwomen,theircommunitiesandsocietyatlargecanrealisethetransformational

benefitsofmobile.Achievingthisgoalrequiresattention,investmentandcollaborationfromall.

1.GSMAIntelligence,2025.

2.InternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU)estimatesfor2025.

3.Thisperiodisinclusiveoftheyears2023and2030.

4.GSMA.(2023).

TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

.

5.GSMA.(2024).

TheStateofMobileInternetConnectivity2024

.

6.GSMA.(2023).

TheMobileGenderGapReport2023

;GSMA.(2024).

TheMobileGenderGapReport2024

.

GSNATheMobileGenderGapReport2026Introduction5

pRoviDEs:

Newbreakdownsofmobile

gendergapsinlow-and

middle-incomecountries

byurbanandruralareas,

leastdevelopedcountries

(LDCs),landlockeddeveloping

countries(LLDCs)andsmall

islanddevelopingstates(SIDS).

TheMobileGenderGapReport2026lntroduction6

Updateddataongender

gapsinmobileownership,

smartphoneownershipandmobileinternetadoptionin

LMICsandhowthesefigureshavechangedovertime.

Updatedinsightsonthe

barrierstomobileinternet

adoptionandfurthermobileinternetuse.

Newdataonhowmenand

womenmobileinternet

usersperceivetheimpactofmobileinternetuseontheirlivelihoodsandincomes.

ĪHisREpoRĪ

16,000

RESPONDENTSFROM

14LMICs

Theseface-to-face,nationally

representativesurveyswere

conductedbetweenSeptemberandNovember2025.Analysisofother

researchanddatafromtheGSMA,aswellasotherorganisationsthat

investigateandtrackthemobile

gendergap,alsoinformthefindingsofthisreport.

Thefindingsof

thisreportdrawon

theannualGSMA

ConsumerSurvey,whichhadmorethan

TheMobileGenderGapReport20267

KEy

FiNDiNfs

KEyFiNDiNfs

1.Thegendergapinmobileinternetadoptionacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountries

decreasedslightlyin2025,drivenprimarilybySub-SaharanAfricaandSouthAsia.This

continuesaslownarrowingofthegendergapsince2022.

2.Morethan1.5billionwomeninlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesarenowusingmobileinternet,withwomen’srateofadoptionsimilartolastyear.

3.Womenarenow12%lesslikelythanmentousemobileinternetacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountries.Thistranslatestoaround200million

fewerwomenthanmen.Currently,74%ofmeninthesecountriesusemobileinternetcomparedtoonly65%ofwomen.

4.Morethantwo-thirdsofthe810millionwomenstillnotusingmobileinternetinlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesliveinSub-SaharanAfricaandSouthAsia.Theseregionsalsohavethewidest

gendergapsinmobileinternetadoption:26%and25%,respectively.

5.Thegendergapinmobileinternetadoptiontendstobetwotothreetimeswiderinruralareas

thanurbanareasoflow-andmiddle-income

countries.ThemobileinternetgendergapinruralareasiswidestinSub-SaharanAfrica,SouthAsiaandMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.

6.Ofthedifferentcategoriesoflow-andmiddle-

incomecountries,thewidestgendergapinmobileinternetadoptionisinleastdevelopedcountries,followedbylandlockeddevelopingcountries.

7.Thegendergapinsmartphoneownershipacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountriesisrelatively

unchangedat13%.Thistranslatestoaround

210millionfewerwomenowningsmartphones

thanmen.Inthesecountries,64%ofwomennowownasmartphonecomparedto73%ofmen.

Smartphonegendergapstendtobewiderin

contextswithwidergendergapsinmobileinternetadoption,suchasinSub-SaharanAfricaandSouthAsiaandinruralareasofLMICs.

8.Thegendergapinmobileownershipacrosslow-andmiddle-incomecountriesis7%andhasnotchangednotablyinnineyears.Therearestillaround385millionwomenwhodo

notownamobilephone,andtheyareprovingdifficulttoreach.

GSNATheMobileGenderGapReport2026

9.Thevastmajorityofmobileinternetusers

insurveycountriesaccessitfromtheirown

phone.However,inseveralcountries,includingPakistan,IndiaandEthiopia,amuchhigher

percentageofwomenmobileinternetusersthanmencontinuetoonlyusetheinternetonsomeoneelse’smobilephone.

10.Awarenessofmobileinternetishighandremainsalmostequalamongmenandwomeninmostof

thesurveycountries,butnotablegendergapsremaininsomecountries.Awarenessdoesnotalwaysleadtoadoption,particularlyforwomen.

11.Forthosewhoarealreadyawareofmobile

internet,thetopreportedbarrierstoadopting

itarestillaffordability(primarilyofhandsets)

andliteracyanddigitalskills.Withmillions

morewomenofflinethanmen,womenare

disproportionatelyaffectedbythesebarriers.

Womenalsotendtoexperiencethesebarriers

moreacutelyduetosocialnormsandstructural

inequalities,suchaslowereducationandincome.

12.Oncemenandwomenusemobileinternet,the

topreportedbarrierstofurtherusearestill

safetyandsecurityconcerns,affordability

(particularlydatabutalsohandsets)and,to

someextent,connectivityexperience.These

barriersvarymorebylocalcontextandlessby

gender.Forexample,incountrieswithhigherratesofmobileinternetadoption,safetyandsecurity

concernstendtobereportedmorebybothmenandwomen.

13.Mostmobileinternetusersaccessiteveryday,especiallymen.Femalemobileinternetusers

stilltendtouseitforanarrowerrangeofuse

casesthanmenonadailyandweeklybasis.Themostpopularusecasesforbothmenandwomenarerelatedtocommunicationandentertainment.

14.Inalmosteverysurveycountry,thevastmajorityofmobileinternetusersreportthatusingit

haseitherimprovedorhadnoimpactontheirlivelihoodsandincome,ratherthanworsenedit.Viewsaresimilaramongmenandwomenandvarymorebyregionandeconomicactivity.Forexample,mobileinternetusersinSub-SaharanAfricaaremorelikelythanusersinanyother

regiontoreportthatusingmobileinternethasimprovedtheirlivelihoodsandincome.

KeyFindings8

INLOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRIES

65%

ofwomennowusemobileinternet

Thiscomparesto74%ofmen

THEGENDERGAPINMOBILEINTERNETADOPTIONNARROWEDSLIGHTLYINTHEPASTYEAR

Thismeans

200M

notusingmobileinternet

MORETHAN

2/3

LIVEINSouthAsiaand

Sub-SaharanAfrica

Womenare

7%

lesslikelythanmen

toownamobilephone

385M

womenstill

donotownamobilephone

lesslikelythan

mentousemobileinternet

Womenarenow12%

fewerwomen

thanmenuse

mobileinternet

GSNMATheMobileGenderGapReport2026KeyFindings

INLOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRIES

Wllt%

toownasmartphone

fewerwomenthan

210M

menownasmartphone

Ofthedifferentcategoriesoflow-

andmiddle-incomecountries,the

largestmobilegendergapsarein

leastdevelopedcountries,followedbylandlockeddevelopingcountries.

Thegendergapin

mobileinternetuse

tendstobe2–3timeshigherinruralareasthanurbanareas

Closingthegendergapinmobileinternetadoptionfrom2023to2030wouldadd

$1.3TRILLION

INADDITIONALGDP

ACROSS14SURVEYCOUNTRIES

FURTHERMOBILEINTERNETUSE

Thetopbarriers

preventingwomenwhousemobileinternetfromusingitmoreare:

1.SAFETYANDSECURITYCONCERNS

2.AFFORDABILITY

〔PRIMARILYOFDATA,BUTALSOHANDSETS]

3.CONNECTIVITYEXPERIENCE

MOBILEINTERNETADOPTION

Thetopbarriers

preventingwomenwhoareawareofmobileinternetfromadoptingitare:

1.AFFORDABILITY〔PRIMARILYOFHANDSETS]

2.LITERACYANDDIGITALSKILLS

Themostpopularmobileinternetusecasesare

relatedtocommunicationandentertainment.

Thevastmajorityofmobileinternetusersreportthatusingithaseitherimproved

orhadnoimpactontheirlivelihoodsandincome,ratherthanworsenedit.

9

DEFiNiĪioNs

FEATUREPHONEOWNER

Amobileownerwhohassoleorprimaryuseofafeaturephone.Afeaturephoneisaninternet-enabledmobilephonewithasmallscreenandbasickeypadwithseverallettersperbutton.Afeaturephonemayhavesome

pre-installedappsbutdoesnothavetheabilitytodownloadappsfromanonlineappstore,suchasGooglePlayortheAppStore.Smartfeaturephonesareasubgroupoffeaturephonesandarenotrecordedasaseparate

categoryinthesurvey.

GENDERGAP

Thegendergapinmobilephoneownershipandmobileinternetuseiscalculatedusingthefollowingformula:

Maleowners/usersFemaleowners/users

(%ofmalepopulation)(%offemalepopulation)

Gendergapin

=

ownership/use(%)

Maleowners/users

(%ofmalepopulation)

LANDLOCKEDDEVELOPINGCOUNTRY

Acountryclassifiedaslandlockedanddeveloping(LLDC)bytheUnitedNations.7

LEASTDEVELOPEDCOUNTRY

Aleastdevelopedcountry(LDC)isclassifiedby

theUnitedNations8asalow-incomecountrythat

facesseverestructuralimpedimentstosustainable

development.LDCsarehighlyvulnerabletoeconomicandenvironmentalshocksandhavelowlevelsof

humanassets.

LOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRY

Acountryclassifiedaslow-income,lower-middleincomeandupper-middleincomebytheWorld

BankCountryandLendingGroups.9

MOBILEINTERNETUSER

Apersonwhohasusedtheinternetonamobile

phoneatleastonceinthepastthreemonths.10Mobileinternetusersdonothavetopersonallyownamobilephone.Therefore,theycanbenon-mobilephone

ownerswhousemobileinternetbyaccessingitonsomeoneelse’sphone.

MOBILEOWNER

“Mobilephoneowner”and“mobileowner”areused

interchangeablyinthisreporttomeanapersonwho

hassoleormainuseofaSIMcardormobilephone

thatdoesnotrequireaSIMandusesitatleastonceamonth.ThevastmajorityofSIMownersalsohavesoleormainuseofahandset(amedianof94%acrossthecountries,rangingfrom83%to99%).

SMALLISLANDDEVELOPINGSTATE

Acountryclassifiedasasmallislandanddevelopingstate(SIDS)bytheUnitedNations.11

SMARTPHONEOWNER

Amobileownerwhohassoleorprimaryuseofa

smartphone.Asmartphoneisamobilephonewithatouchscreendisplay,anadvancedoperatingsystem(AndroidoriOS)andtheabilitytodownloadapps

fromanonlineappstore,suchasGooglePlayortheAppStore.

7.UnitedNations,

ListofLLDCs

.

8.UnitedNations,

LeastDevelopedCountries

.

9.

WorldBankCountryandLendingGroups

.

10.Respondentswereaskedthequestion:“Haveyoueverusedtheinternetonamobilephone?Pleasethinkaboutallthedifferentwaysofusingtheinternetonamobilephone.Justtoconfirm,peopleareusingtheinternetontheirmobilephoneswhentheydoanyofthefollowing:visitinternetwebsite(e.g.GoogleorAmazon),visitsocialnetworkingwebsites(e.g.Facebook,Twitter,YouTube,Weibo),sendemailsorinstantmessages(e.g.WhatsApp,Snapchat,WeChat,LINE)ordownloadapps.”Mobileinternetusersarethosewhoanswered,“Yes,Ihaveusedtheinternetonamobilephoneinthepastthreemonths.”

11.UnitedNations,

ListofSIDS

.Forthisanalysis,high-incomecountriesareomittedfromtheanalysisofSIDS.ItthereforeexcludesAntiguaandBarbuda,Aruba,Bahamas,Barbados,Guyana,Nauru,Palau,SaintKittsandNevis,Seychelles,SingaporeandTrinidadandTobago.

TheMobileGenderGapReport2026

Definitions

10

ĪHEmoBilE

fENDERfAp

iN2025

TheMobileGenderGapReport202611

2025wasyetanotherchallengingyearformanyin

low-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs),dueto

geopoliticalshocks,economichardshipandextremeweatherevents.AcrossLMICs,women’soverall

mobileownershipremainedlargelyunchanged,whiletheirlevelsofmobileinternetuseandsmartphone

ownershipincreasedslightly.Men’slevelsremainedrelativelyunchanged,resultingingendergapssimilartothosein2024.

Between2017and2020,thegendergapinmobile

internetadoptionnarrowedsubstantiallyfrom25%to16%.WhiletheCOVID-19pandemicandassociated

lockdownsbroughtmanypeopleonlineforthefirst

time,italsoledtolong-lastingeconomiccrises.In

2021and2022,progressinincreasingmobileinternetadoptionstalled,andthegendergapinmobileinternetadoptionroseslightlyto18%.Since2022,wehave

seenagradualnarrowingofthegendergapinmobileinternetadoption,atamuchslowerratethanprior

to2020.Thistrendcontinuedin2025,withwomen

acrossLMICsnow12%lesslikelythanmentouse

mobileinternet.Thissmallnarrowingofthegender

gapfrom2024to2025isduetowomenadopting

mobileinternetataslightlyfasterratethanmen.Still,acrossLMICs,around200millionfewerwomenthanmenusemobileinternet.

Itisalsoimportanttounderstandthegendergapin

mobileownership,specificallyofinternet-enabled

devices.Womenare13%lesslikelythanmentoownasmartphone,andthisgapisrelativelyunchanged

since2024.Thistranslatesintoaround210million

fewerwomenthanmen.Therearestillapproximately840millionwomeninLMICswhodonotyetowna

smartphone,whichlimitstheirabilitytoaccessandusemobileinternettomeettheirneeds.

AcrossLMICs,womenare7%lesslikelythanmento

ownamobilephoneofanytype,whichtranslatesintoaround135millionfewerwomenthanmen.Thegendergapinmobileownershiphasnotchangedsubstantiallysincewebegantrackingitin2017.Althoughjustshortof2billionwomeninthesecountriesownamobile

phone,theremainingapproximately385millionwomenwhodonotareprovingdifficulttoreach.

Gendergapsinmobileinternetadoption,smartphone

ownershipandoverallmobileownershiphavebeen

consistentlywidestinSouthAsiaandSub-Saharan

Africa,wheremostofthosenotusingmobileinternet

live(Figure1).However,therehasbeensomepromisingprogressinSub-SaharanAfricaandSouthAsiain

2025.ThegendergapinmobileinternetadoptionhasnarrowedinSub-SaharanAfricafrom30%in2024to26%in2025,continuingapositivetrendobservedforthepasttwoyears.InSouthAsia,itdecreasedfrom

33%in2024to25%in2025.Still,therearearound

230millionand330millionwomenineachregion,respectively,whodonotusemobileinternet.

Womenare

lesslikelythanmentoownasmartphone

Womenare

lesslikelythanmento

usemobileinternet

200

fewerwomenthanmenareusingmobileinternet

12%

million

13%

GSNATheMobileGenderGapReport2026TheMobileGenderGap12

Figure1

GendergapsacrossLMICsandbyregion,2017–2025Amongtotaladultpopulation

GENDERGAPINMOBILEINTERNETADOPTIONAcrossLMICsoverall

24%

25%

22%

18%

18%

16%

15%

14%

12%

201720182019202020212022202320242025

Gendergapinmobileinternetadoption

SouthAsia

Sub-SaharanAfrica

36%

38%

36%

36%

37%

36%

35%

30%26%

Gendergapinmobileinternetadoption

35%

41%

41%

32%

32%

66%

50%

25%

57%

7%

10%8%

4%

4%

6%

5%

3%

4%

22%

20%

21%

19%15%

15%

16%15%

15%

6%

2%

0%

0%

1%

2%

1%

1%

1%

6%

6%

5%

4%

4%

3%

4%

2%

3%

EastAsia&Pacific

MiddleEast&NorthAfrica

LatinAmerica&Caribbean

Europe&CentralAsia

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

GENDERGAPSINMOBILEOWNERSHIPANDSMARTPHONEOWNERSHIPAcrossLMICsoverall

19%

18%

16%

17%

14%

14%

13%

11%

16%14%

11%

10%

8%

8%

8%

7%

8%

7%

201720182019202020212022202320242025

GendergapinmobileownershipGendergapinsmartphoneownership

26%

28%

22%

18%

17%

15%

15%

19%15%

15%15%

15%14%

14%

14%

14%

12%

10%

1%

2%

2%

2%

1%

2%

2%

1%

1%

9%

8%

9%

8%

10%

8%

9%

8%

8%

2%

0%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

0%

0%

3%

3%

2%

4%

3%

2%

3%

3%

2%

59%60%

59%

41%

46%

41%

34%

39%

33%

25%

27%

25%

28%

30%

27%

27%

24%

22%

0%

1%

1%

1%

1%

2%

1%

0%

Source:GSMA,2025

MobileownershipisdefinedashavingsoleormainuseofaSIMcard(oramobilephonethatdoesnotrequireaSIM)andusingitatleast

onceamonth.

Mobileinternetuseisdefinedashavingused

theinternetonamobilephoneatleastonceinthepastthreemonths.Mobileinternetusersdonothavetopersonallyownamobilephone.

Thegendergapinmobileownership,

smartphoneownershipandmobileinternetusereferstohowmuchlesslikelyawomanisto

ownamobile(orasmartphoneortousemobileinternet)thanaman.

Regionalaverageswerecalculatedfrom

country-leveldatabasedonsurveyresultsandmodelleddataforadultsaged18+.Someof

thepercentagesshowminordifferencesfrompreviousreports.Thisisduetochangesinthegroupofcountriesdefinedaslow-andmiddle-incomeandthefactthatourmodellinguses

themostup-to-datedatafromoursurveyandthird-partysources.

SouthAsia

Sub-SaharanAfrica

EastAsia&Pacific

MiddleEast&NorthAfrica

LatinAmerica&Caribbean

Europe&CentralAsia

GendergapinmobileownershipGendergapinsmartphoneownership

17%

17%

18%

17%

14%

11%

13%

12%

10%

8%4%

1%

1%

3%3%3%

1%1%

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

7%

7%

6%

6%

7%

5%

6%

6%

5%

2017

2018

2019

-1%

GSNMATheMobileGenderGapReport2026TheMobileGenderGap