New research from Informa Telecoms & Media found that there were more than 50 million folks using mobile social networks at the end of 2007. That’s roughly 2.3% of the global mobile market.

Informa expects a compound annual growth rate of 30%-50% over the next five years, which will push the percentage of mobile social network users up to anywhere from 12.5% to 23% by 2012, depending on the actual uptake.

The study found that worldwide mobile social networking revenues surpassed $1.5 billion in 2006 and more than doubled last year, telecoms.com, which is owned by Informa, reports. Informa forecasts revenues for the nascent industry to range from a conservative $28.9 billion to a potential “high-growth” $52 billion by 2012.

“Mobile Social Networking: Communities and Content on the move” (Informa Telecoms & Media, February 2008)