The line graph illustrates how the percentage of people worldwide using different kinds of information and communication technology changed over a 10-year period between 1998 and 2008.
Overall, it is evident that most categories increased steadily throughout the period, except for mobile phones, which experienced a significant rise at the beginning before slumping towards the end. It is also noticeable that mobile phones were the most popular category for most of the surveyed period.
Looking at the details, in 1998, the proportion of people using the landline of ICT was the highest, at approximately 8%, closely followed by the figure for cell phones, at 5%. After that, the figure for cell phones increased gradually, reaching 20% in 2008. Regarding mobile phones, this figure rose slightly to about 12% in 2001, overtaking the corresponding figure for the landline and becoming the highest figure, before it experienced a remarkable rise, peaking at 45% in 2007. Then, there was a slump in the percentage of people using mobile phones, dropping to its lowest point, at 0% in 2008.
On the other hand, in 1998, while internet usage accounted for 3%, the corresponding figure for both fixed broadband and wifi stood at 0%. Over the studied period, the percentage of people using the internet increased consistently, climbing to 21% in 2008. Likewise, at the same time, the figure for fixed broadband also increased but it was less substantial than that of the internet. This figure reached 12% in 2008. As for wifi, in the following six years, this figure remained unchanged before it witnessed a dramatic rise, reaching 13% in 2008.