Samsung overtakes Nokia as number one phone manufacturer

South Korean telecommunications giant Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the world’s top mobile phone manufacturer, according to a report.

The Finnish firm’s 14-year reign at the top is over, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

Samsung sold 93.5 million handsets in the first quarter of 2012, accounting for 25.4% of the global mobile phone market, the report states.

Nokia sold 82.7 million phones, with 22.5% of market share, followed by Apple in third place with 9.5% of the market.

Samsung produces around one fifth of South Korea’s exports and its revenues are larger than many countries’ GDP. With electronics, ships, insurance, engineering and construction divisions, the company in itself would rank among the world’s 40 largest economies.