Overall Africa and Middle East handset subscriptions are expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2023, up from 733 million last year according to new data released by data and analytics company GlobalData.

The research found that smartphones will account for 81% of handsets in 2023, which is up from 54.4% in 2018, while during the same period, feature phone subscriptions will decline at a CAGR of -11.7%.

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“The massive growth in smartphone adoption will be largely driven by increasing penetration through lower priced handsets, more affordable device plans, 3G / 4G coverage expansion, growing OTT video adoption and larger data bundles,” said GlobalData senior technology analyst Jonathan Bachrach.