Smartphone adoption to match population growth in Brazil

The number of smartphones in Brazil should match population growth within the next two years, according to research.

The predictions by Brazilian think tank and university Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) predicts that the total number of smartphones in use in the country will reach 236 million between 2020 and 2022.

Currently, there are 198 million smartphones in use in Brazil, according to the study. The current population is just over 200 million.

The growth predictions are due to a shift in buying patterns, according to FGV professor Fernando Meirelles, who coordinated the research.

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Brazilians are no longer buying desktops and prefer to buy smartphones instead - and this is particularly true among younger demographics, Meirelles told delegates at an event in São Paulo where the findings of the research were presented.

At 138 percent, smartphone penetration in Brazil is already above the global average of 115 percent, according to the FGV research. And a related study also suggests that smartphones represent the majority of the mobile phone market in Brazil.

In addition, Brazilian consumers are becoming more mature in terms of mobile phone purchasing and usage patterns and are holding on to their devices for longer.

And the local market for these devices has seen a slowdown of late. Separate research by analyst firm IDC suggests that mobile phone sales in Brazil dropped in 2016 due to the economic crisis the country has experienced - and smartphones have seen the biggest hit.

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However, despite the 5.2 percent decrease in sales with 48.4 million handsets sold compared to the 51.1 million marketed in 2015, Brazil remains the world's fourth largest market for mobile phones.