More than two-thirds of Fijians who do not personally own a mobile phone regularly use someone else’s device, highlighting the importance of phone sharing in maintaining access to communication and digital services.
The Fiji Financial Services Demand Side Survey 2025 found that 68 per cent of non-mobile phone owners regularly use another person’s mobile phone or SIM.
The practice is particularly common among women and younger Fijians.
According to the survey, 74 per cent of women without their own mobile phone regularly use someone else’s device, compared with 60 per cent of men.
The rate was also 74 per cent among people aged 15 to 35, compared with 61 per cent among those aged 36 to 55 and 69 per cent for the 56 to 65 age group.
Among those aged 66 and above, 54 per cent regularly relied on another person’s phone.
The survey also reveals a significant rural-urban difference, with 72 per cent of rural non-phone owners using someone else’s device compared with 62 per cent in urban areas.
It suggests the higher levels of sharing among women, young people and rural residents may indicate a greater need for mobile phones among these groups.
Making calls or sending messages was by far the most common reason for sharing a device, cited by 76 per cent of respondents.
About 51 per cent used another person’s phone to access the internet, while smaller proportions used shared devices to receive money, send money, make payments, access mobile money accounts, buy airtime or for entertainment.
The survey found women were slightly more likely than men to share a phone to access the internet, make payments or send and receive money.
Among Fijians who did not own a mobile phone, 14 per cent reported using another person’s device to make a payment, while seven per cent did so regularly.
