The world now has nearly as many mobile phone subscriptions as inhabitants.
The UN telecom agency said there were about 6 billion subscriptions by the end of 2011 - roughly one for 86 of every 100 people.
In a report today, the International Telecommunication Union said China alone accounted for 1 billion subscriptions, and India is expected to hit the 1 billion mark this year.
The Geneva-based agency said 2.3 billion people - or about one in three of the world's 7 billion inhabitants - were Internet users by the end of 2011. But it noted a strong disparity between rich and developing countries.
The ITU said that 70% of people who use the Internet live in wealthier, industrialised countries, compared with 24% who live in poorer, developing nations.
