THERE are now more Apple iPhones sold per second than there are babies born in the world.

In the December quarter, Apple sold 37 million of the world's most popular smartphone, at a rate of 4.6 per second.

Apple iPhones are sold at a rate of 4.6 per second compared with the current global birth rate of 4.2 births per second. Credit:Kitty Hill

This compares to the current global birth rate of about 4.2 births every second.

While the United Nations predicts the birth rate will soon climb to five births a second - as the global population surpasses 7 billion - the rate of smartphones sales is likely to grow even faster.