The thought of having more than one active cellphone may seem like a stretch to most people, but in many parts of the world, it’s more normal than you think. In fact, in Brazil, Russia, and China, it’s rather commonplace. According to a study by the Nielsen Wire, in Brazil alone, 48% of mobile users own two or more phones.

This is a staggering number when you compare it to a mobile market like the USA, where only 17 percent of mobile subscribers own more than one device. What’s even more surprising, ownership of three or more phones in Brazil is at 15 percent, putting it higher than the US, China, and Russia in that category.

The use of multiple phones is also a growing trend in China, the world’s largest mobile market, where more than one in three mobile subscribers owns multiple phones..

But what’s the impetus for increasing multiple device ownership in these countries? In many cases, it’s just a matter of people keeping their old devices after an upgrade, opting to save the original as a backup. In other cases, people own multiple devices to keep a clear separation between their work and personal life, having one phone for each. There’s even a distinction in what types of phones are used when having one phone for work, and one for play. In places like China and Russia, for example, smartphone owners were more likely to use their handsets for business, whereas most non-smartphone owners had phones for personal use.

A Growing Trend

Another big factor fueling the multi-device trend in these countries is the pre-existing used and refurbished phone market. In Brazil, used and refurbished phones account for nearly 10% of all mobile phone ownership. This number is expected to grow further, as general market expansion will push both the number of new devices, and used/refurbished devices in the next 5 years. Whether it’s 1 phone or 3, mobile adoption is on a steady rise in Brazil, China, and Russia. And with the power of population, plus adaptable marketplace, the sky is the limit for mobile business.

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