Americans Top in Tech Overconsumption with an Average of 13 Devices and Connections Per Capita, Four more than Europeans and 4x more than Asians

August 11, 11:22 pm

Although global spending on tech devices has dropped since the market peak in 2021, consumers worldwide will still pay a shocking $710 billion for buying PCs, tablets, and smartphones this year. However, this is only a part of the tech devices an average consumer owns today, and their number keeps rising. Over the past five years, the average number of devices and connections per capita worldwide rose from 2.4 to 3.6. Still, there are huge regional differences, with North America being the top region in tech overconsumption.

According to data presented by AltIndex.com, Americans owned an average of 13.4 devices and connections per capita last year, four more than Europeans and four times more than Asians.

Americans Own the Most Tech Devices, But Europeans Lead in Five-Year Increase

According to data from the UN Trade and Development`s Digital Economy Report 2024, the rising demand for tech isn’t simply a case of more people buying electronic devices worldwide. The average number of devices per consumer is also increasing. Between 2018 and 2023, their number rose from 2.4 to 3.6 per capita on the global level. However, the regional numbers show even bigger increases.

In a global comparison, Americans undoubtedly lead in tech ownership. Five years ago, the average person in North America owned around eight devices. By the end of 2023, their number jumped by 63% to 13. That means Americans today own four tech devices and connections more than Europeans and four times more than Asians.

While Americans top in tech ownership, Europeans lead in a five-year increase. Statistics show that between 2018 and 2023, the average number of tech devices owned by Europeans jumped by 68%, rising from 5.6 in to 9.4.

Other regions saw a smaller increase. For instance, the figure rose from 2.5 to 4 in Central and Eastern Europe, representing a 60% five-year increase. Latin America saw a 40% increase in this period, with the number of owned devices jumping from 2.2 to 3.1. Asia and Pacific followed with 3.1 owned devices and connections in 2023, or 47% more than five years ago.

Statistics show the Middle East and Africa, as the region with the smallest number of owned tech devices, also witnessed the smallest growth, with the number of devices per capita rising from 1.1 to only 1.5 between 2018 and 2023.

IoT Devices Will Fuell the Tech Ownership Growth in the Following Years

According to the Digital Economy Report, Internet of Things devices, such as sensors, connected vehicles, consumer electronics, and wearables, will fuel tech ownership growth in the future.

In 2021, IoT devices surpassed conventional devices, like PCs, tablets, and smartphones, for the first time, with a total of 9.2 billion connections worldwide. In 2024, the total number of IoT connections is expected to jump over 18.8 billion, which will more than double in the next four years. By 2028, Statista expects close to 40 billion IoT connections worldwide; consumer IoT connections will make up over half of that number.

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