What it helps answer
Reading the signal
Approximates the reach and intensity of mobile connectivity, including people or businesses that maintain multiple SIM cards.
Indicator guide · IT.CEL.SETS.P2
Active mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people. The table keeps each country's reported year visible so stale and current observations are not treated as equivalent.
What it helps answer
Approximates the reach and intensity of mobile connectivity, including people or businesses that maintain multiple SIM cards.
Before comparing
Subscriptions are not unique users, so values can exceed 100. The measure does not show smartphone adoption, network quality, affordability or actual usage.
Measurement
World Bank indicator IT.CEL.SETS.P2. Values can be revised as national statistical agencies and international datasets update.
Source definition
Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions are subscriptions to a public mobile telephone service that provide access to the PSTN using cellular technology. The indicator includes (and is split into) the number of postpaid subscriptions, and the number of active prepaid accounts (i.e. that have been used during the last three months). The indicator applies to all mobile cellular subscriptions that offer voice communications. It excludes subscriptions via data cards or USB modems, subscriptions to public mobile data services, private trunked mobile radio, telepoint, radio paging and telemetry services.
Original source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
60-market reference table
Sorted by value, not by a common year. Check the year column before drawing a direct comparison.
| Position | Country | Region | Value | Year | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Arab Emirates | Middle East | 203.21 | 2024 | Compare |
| 2 | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | 179.34 | 2024 | Compare |
| 3 | Japan | East Asia | 178.43 | 2023 | Compare |
| 4 | Israel | Middle East | 177.39 | 2024 | Compare |
| 5 | Colombia | Latin America | 174.09 | 2024 | Compare |
| 6 | South Korea | East Asia | 172.52 | 2024 | Compare |
| 7 | Singapore | Southeast Asia | 170.78 | 2024 | Compare |
| 8 | Kuwait | Middle East | 167.68 | 2023 | Compare |
| 9 | Thailand | Southeast Asia | 160.64 | 2024 | Compare |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East | 159.54 | 2024 | Compare |
| 11 | Qatar | Middle East | 153.61 | 2024 | Compare |
| 12 | Morocco | Middle East & North Africa | 153.06 | 2024 | Compare |
| 13 | Uruguay | Latin America | 145.50 | 2024 | Compare |
| 14 | Sweden | Europe | 140.69 | 2024 | Compare |
| 15 | Argentina | Latin America | 140.23 | 2024 | Compare |
| 16 | Malaysia | Southeast Asia | 139.66 | 2024 | Compare |
| 17 | Poland | Europe | 138.02 | 2024 | Compare |
| 18 | Costa Rica | Latin America | 136.02 | 2024 | Compare |
| 19 | Ukraine | Europe | 133.38 | 2023 | Compare |
| 20 | Chile | Latin America | 132.66 | 2024 | Compare |
| 21 | Italy | Europe | 132.58 | 2024 | Compare |
| 22 | China | East Asia | 131.75 | 2024 | Compare |
| 23 | Spain | Europe | 130.26 | 2024 | Compare |
| 24 | New Zealand | Oceania | 130.09 | 2024 | Compare |
| 25 | Switzerland | Europe | 129.47 | 2024 | Compare |
| 26 | Germany | Europe | 129.15 | 2024 | Compare |
| 27 | Netherlands | Europe | 128.54 | 2024 | Compare |
| 28 | Vietnam | Southeast Asia | 127.61 | 2024 | Compare |
| 29 | Denmark | Europe | 126.69 | 2024 | Compare |
| 30 | Czechia | Europe | 126.60 | 2024 | Compare |
| 31 | Kenya | Sub-Saharan Africa | 126.48 | 2024 | Compare |
| 32 | Finland | Europe | 125.86 | 2024 | Compare |
| 33 | Peru | Latin America | 124.62 | 2024 | Compare |
| 34 | Austria | Europe | 124.46 | 2024 | Compare |
| 35 | Portugal | Europe | 124.13 | 2024 | Compare |
| 36 | Indonesia | Southeast Asia | 122.51 | 2024 | Compare |
| 37 | United Kingdom | Europe | 121.64 | 2024 | Compare |
| 38 | Romania | Europe | 119.80 | 2024 | Compare |
| 39 | France | Europe | 116.69 | 2023 | Compare |
| 40 | Mexico | Latin America | 116.49 | 2024 | Compare |
| 41 | Algeria | Middle East & North Africa | 115.46 | 2024 | Compare |
| 42 | Philippines | Southeast Asia | 115.30 | 2024 | Compare |
| 43 | Ghana | Sub-Saharan Africa | 113.65 | 2024 | Compare |
| 44 | Greece | Europe | 113.60 | 2024 | Compare |
| 45 | United States | North America | 113.19 | 2024 | Compare |
| 46 | Ireland | Europe | 112.64 | 2024 | Compare |
| 47 | Australia | Oceania | 112.58 | 2024 | Compare |
| 48 | Norway | Europe | 109.35 | 2024 | Compare |
| 49 | Bangladesh | South Asia | 108.08 | 2024 | Compare |
| 50 | Turkiye | Europe & Central Asia | 107.83 | 2024 | Compare |
| 51 | Hungary | Europe | 104.58 | 2024 | Compare |
| 52 | Belgium | Europe | 103.90 | 2024 | Compare |
| 53 | Brazil | Latin America | 101.93 | 2024 | Compare |
| 54 | Ecuador | Latin America | 101.60 | 2024 | Compare |
| 55 | Egypt | Middle East & North Africa | 97.13 | 2024 | Compare |
| 56 | Canada | North America | 94.11 | 2024 | Compare |
| 57 | India | South Asia | 79.35 | 2024 | Compare |
| 58 | Pakistan | South Asia | 76.85 | 2024 | Compare |
| 59 | Nigeria | Sub-Saharan Africa | 70.76 | 2024 | Compare |
| 60 | Ethiopia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 65.08 | 2024 | Compare |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-08-26. Open the source indicator · Download 15-year CSV.
Choose two markets to compare their full 15-year series. Missing years remain visible rather than being converted to zero.
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