Switzerland is swimming in smartphones and tablets.

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That’s the conclusion of a survey conducted last month by comparis.ch, the online consumer rating service.

The survey results, released on Tuesday, showed that around 3.6 million residents between the ages of 15 and 74 use a smartphone, compared to 2.9 million a year earlier.

That amounts to almost half the country’s entire population of eight million, including children.

Smartphones — mobile phones with advanced computing capability and connectivity — are very popular with young people in Switzerland, comparis.ch said.

Among those under 30, 83 percent have one, according to the survey, a higher percentage than for any other age group.

The share for those aged 30 to 49 is 68 percent, while for those over 50 it’s 32 percent.

Apple iPhones account for more than half (55 percent) of smartphones in Switzerland, followed by Android devices (38 percent), the survey found.

Windows mobile phones accounted for only five percent of such phones, comparis.ch said.
 
Apple also dominates the market for tablets with its popular iPad product.

Comparis said the number of Swiss residents using tablets has doubled in just one year to 1.7 million people, or 27 percent of those polled, up from 14 percent in January 2012.

The iPad has a “commanding 70 percent share of the Swiss market.”

Comparis.ch noted that 78 percent of tablet users also have smartphones in Switzerland.

“This makes sense, as the two devices complement each other,” it said
 
With a mobile phone you can configure a WiFi network that can be used by a tablet, “eliminating the need for a separate data subscription”.