• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 22, 2016

Although there is still a strong relationship between per-capita income, Web access and smartphone ownership, the percentage of people in emerging and developing nations who say that they use the Web and own a smartphone has risen noticeably over the past two years.

In fact, while smartphones are much more common in advanced economies, smartphone ownership rates in emerging and developing nations are rising at an extraordinary rate -- climbing from a median of 21% in 2013 to 37% in 2015, according to new findings from the Pew Research Center based on a survey of some 40 countries.

In 2013, a median of 45% across 21 emerging and developing countries reported using the internet at least occasionally or owning a smartphone. In 2015, that figure rose to 54%, with much of that increase coming from large emerging economies, such as Malaysia, Brazil and China.

In addition to the rising Web access rates in emerging and developing nations, those who have access worldwide are voracious users. Roughly three-quarters of adult Web users across the 40 countries surveyed in 2015 say that they use the internet at least once a day, with majorities in many countries saying that they access it several times a day.

Once online, 76% of Web users across the 40 countries surveyed use social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, Web users in many emerging and developing countries are more likely to use these sites compared with those in advanced nations.

Roughly three-quarters or more of Web users in the Middle East (86%), Latin America (82%) and Africa (76%) say they use social networks, compared with 71% in the U.S. and 65% across six European nations.

Overwhelming majorities in almost every nation surveyed report owning some form of mobile device, even if they are not technically considered smartphones.

Setting a high bar, a median of 87% access the Web across 11 advanced economies surveyed, including the U.S. and Canada, major Western European nations, developed Pacific nations (Japan, Australia and South Korea) and Israel.