The report says that the global mobile phone users have exceeded 3.3 billion

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), headquartered in Geneva, recently published a report stating that by the end of 2007, the number of global mobile phone users had exceeded 3.3 billion, with a penetration rate of 49%.

According to the ITU, over the past two years, the number of mobile phone users in Africa has grown at the fastest pace; by the end of 2007, two-thirds of mobile phone users were from developing countries.

From 2005 to 2007, the number of mobile phone users in Africa grew annually at a rate of 39%, and in Asia at 28%. In India and China, the number of mobile phone users increased by 154 million and 143 million respectively. The ITU said that the average annual global growth rate was 22%.

The report also noted that despite a significant increase in the number of mobile phone users in developing countries, there still remains a vast "digital divide" in internet usage, particularly in broadband access. Although people in high-income countries account for only 16% of the world's population, they make up 66% of the world's fixed broadband users.