(Telecompaper) The total number of tablet users worldwide is set to reach 1 billion for the first time in 2015, according to a report from eMarketer. The figure represents nearly 15 percent of the global population and more than double the percentage reached three years ago. However, the report goes on to predict that the global tablet-using population will slow dramatically in 2015 and continue to taper off. The increase will be 17.1 percent this year, compared to year-on-year gains of 54.1 percent in 2013 and 29.1 percent in 2014. By 2018, the growth rate for new tablet users worldwide will be just 7.9 percent, with the total having reached 1.43 billion. According to the report, China will be the world leader in terms of tablet users in 2015, with more than 328 million residents accessing these devices at least once per month. The US will remain a distant second, with 156 million tablet users in 2015, while Brazil will surpass the UK this year to become the fourth-largest market.