People own more connected devices – laptops, phones and tablets – than ever in the UK, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

The company’s research reveals that the number of Internet-enabled devices per person reached a high of 3.5 in the third quarter of this year, up from 3.4 quarter-on-quarter and from 3.1 year-on-year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is 18 to 24-year-olds who own the most devices with an average of 4.1, with women owning more (3.6 on average) than men (3.3).

Daniel Shropshall, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Smartphone adoption is clearly one of the biggest drivers of device adoption. In the third quarter 76% of people said that they owned a smartphone, up from 68% year-on-year.”

Laptop adoption, however, was just one percentage point higher at 77%.

Take up of smart TVs also pushed the average higher, with 39% now owning one, up from 34% last year.

Meanwhile, ownership of fitness bands – such as Fitbit – rose to 17%, up from 12% last year. On the other side, smartwatch growth stalled, increasing from just eight percent to nine percent year-on-year.