Cell phones are owned by overwhelmingly large majorities of people in most major countries around the world, and they are used for much more than just phone calls, according to a survey of 21 countries by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.

In particular, text messaging is a global phenomenon – across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of 75% of cell phone owners say they text.

Texting is widespread in both wealthy nations and the developing world. In fact, it is most common among cell phone owners in two of the poorest nations surveyed: Indonesia and Kenya.

Many also use their mobile phones to take pictures or video. A median of 50% use their cell phones in this way in the 21 countries polled. Fully 72% of Japanese cell phone owners take pictures or video, as do roughly six-in-ten in Mexico (61%), Spain (59%) and Egypt (58%).

Fewer go online via cellphone

Fewer users access the internet via cell phone, although more than four-in-ten mobile phone owners use their device to go online in Israel (47%), Japan (47%) and the United States (43%).

The survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted March 21 to May 15, also finds that social networking is popular in many nations around the globe.

This is especially true in Israel (53%) and the U.S. (50%), where half or more say they use social networking websites. More than four-in-ten use these sites in Britain (43%), Russia (43%) and Spain (42%).

Social networking more common in higher income nations

Social networking is generally more common in higher income nations; however, this is largely driven by the fact that wealthier countries have higher rates of internet access. People in lower income nations who have online access use social networking at rates that are as high, or higher, than those found in affluent countries.

In nearly every country, the young and the well-educated are especially likely to embrace all of these technologies. People under age 30 and college graduates tend to use their cell phones for more purposes than those in older age groups and those without a college degree, and they are also more likely to use social networking sites.

Many Use Phones for Texting, Pictures

Text messaging is highly prevalent – in 19 of 21 countries, a majority of mobile phone owners regularly send text messages.

Texting is most common among cell phone owners in Indonesia (96%), Kenya (89%), and Lebanon (87%), with eight-in-ten or more in Poland, Mexico, Japan and China also saying they regularly text.

In Western Europe, seven-in-ten or more say they send text messages on their cell phones, with the notable exception of Germany, where just 56% regularly text. Only in India and Pakistan do less than half (49% and 44%, respectively) of cell phone owners text.

Japanese take the most pictures

Now this is no surprise. The Japanese are the most likely of the publics surveyed to say they regularly take pictures or video with their cell phones, with 72% using their mobile phones for such purposes.

Roughly six-in-ten cell phone owners in Mexico (61%), Spain (59%), and Egypt (58%) use their phones for snapping pictures or shooting video, while this is much less common in Lebanon (33%), Kenya (31%), Germany (27%), and India (26%). Only 9% of Pakistani cell phone owners say they use their devices for taking pictures or video.

In none of the countries surveyed do a majority use their cell phone regularly to access the internet. Still, at least 30% in six countries – Israel, Japan, the U.S., Britain, China and Poland – do go online using their phone.

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Tags: Britain, Egypt, Germany, Global Attitudes Project, global cell phone use, global social networking, global texting, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Leabanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Pew Research Center, Russia, Spain, U.S.