The iPhone 5 will make its way to more than 50 countries in December this year, including arch rival Samsung Galaxy's home turf South Korea.

The iPhone 5 is currently available in 47 countries around the world and the Apple announcement on Monday, Dec. 3, confirms that users in additional 50 countries will be able to lay their hands on the latest smartphone.

With the announcement, Apple may achieve a milestone in offering the iPhone 5 in around 100 countries just within four months of its launch.

"iPhone 5 is currently available in 47 countries around the world including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the UK. iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world's most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features including: Shared Photo Streams, Facebook integration, all-new Maps app, Passbook® organization and even more Siri® features and languages," stated Apple's press release.

Previous iterations of iPhones have been welcomed high by smartphone enthusiasts and tech gurus alike. The latest iPhone 5 is no different with the smartphone selling like hot cakes.

Apple claims that the latest iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone the company has made. The completely redesigned iPhone 5 features a 4-inch Retina display and Apple's custom-designed A6 chip.

iPhone 5 is also landing in South Korea, the backyard of Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, on Dec. 7. The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 give stiff competition to the iPhone 5 worldwide. It will be interesting to see if iPhone 5 can carve a place for itself in the South Korean market that has a strong Samsung presence.

A full list of countries in which Apple plans to officially launch iPhone 5 can be found directly from Apple's press room.

With the existence of cheaper smartphones in many countries, it will be interesting to see if the iPhone 5 gets a similar welcome as in Europe and North America.