Latin America will become a force to be reckoned with. Projections show the region gaining the most smartphone shipments within the next five years.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), Latin America will receive up to 154.7 million smartphone units by 2017, which is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.7 percent. The Latin American shipment volumes in 2013 stand at 91.1 million units, or 9 percent of the market share. Although Latin America will gain the most CAGR amongst fellow regions, that does not mean it will receive the most smartphones in the world.

The Asia/Pacific region will continue to represent itself as the top smartphone shipment receiver by 2017 with 986 million units, or 58.5 percent of the market share. For 2013, the Asia/Pacific region is forecasted to receive 528.2 million units, or 52.3 percent of the market share.

The region with the second-most smartphone shipments is Europe, and it will maintain that position in 2017 as well. In 2013, Europe is projected to finish the year with 182.1 million smartphone units, or 18 percent of the market share. By 2017, Europe is projected to account for 261 million units, or 15.5 percent of the market share.

North America will also experience growth in the shipment volumes category from 151 million units in 2013 to 189 million units in 2017. The market share, however, for North America is expected to drop from 15 percent to 11.2 percent.

Finally, Middle East and Africa will see its market share representation decrease by 0.1 percentage points by the time 2017 enters. The Middle East and Africa region represent 5.7 percent of the market share and are expected to account for 5.6 percent in 2017. In terms of shipment volumes, 57.6 million units were projected for 2013 and expected to increase to 95 million units by 2017.

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