North Africa vs South Africa: Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions

North Africa
115.97 per 100 people
in 2011
South Africa
134.67 per 100 people
in 2011
North Africa rank
1st
South Africa rank
4th

Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions over time

  • North Africa
  • South Africa
050100150196019852011

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 134.67 per 100 people against 115.97 per 100 people in North Africa, a difference of 18.7 per 100 people.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times North Africa's.

Across all 38 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

North Africa ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 4th of 6 groups.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade North Africa South Africa Difference Ahead
1960s 0.7402 per 100 people 3.74 per 100 people 3 per 100 people South Africa
1970s 0.8849 per 100 people 4.94 per 100 people 4.06 per 100 people South Africa
1980s 1.84 per 100 people 7.53 per 100 people 5.69 per 100 people South Africa
1990s 4.54 per 100 people 13.43 per 100 people 8.9 per 100 people South Africa
2000s 42.27 per 100 people 68.41 per 100 people 26.13 per 100 people South Africa
2010s 111.02 per 100 people 121.94 per 100 people 10.92 per 100 people South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions, North Africa or South Africa?
South Africa, at 134.67 per 100 people against 115.97 per 100 people in North Africa as of 2011.
What is the difference in fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions between North Africa and South Africa?
18.7 per 100 people, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for North Africa and South Africa?
38 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2011.
How do North Africa and South Africa rank globally for fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions?
North Africa ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 4th of 6 groups.
Where does this data come from?
International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database, published as Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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North Africa vs South Africa: Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions. Statizoid, drawing on International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/fixed-line-and-mobile-cellular-subscriptions-per-100-people/north-africa/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)
Unit
per 100 people
Source
International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
59 places, 2,189 data points, 1960–2011
Last refreshed

Fixed line and mobile cellular subscriptions are total telephone subscriptions (fixed line plus mobile). Fixed telephone subscriptions refers to the sum of active number of analogue fixed telephone lines, voice-over-IP (VoIP) subscriptions, fixed wireless local loop (WLL) subscriptions, ISDN voice-channel equivalents and fixed public payphones. 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.