China vs India: Fixed telephone subscriptions
China
166.51 million
in 2024
India
39.24 million
in 2024
China rank
1st
India rank
4th
Fixed telephone subscriptions over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 166.51 million against 39.24 million in India, a difference of 127.27 million.
That makes China's figure about 4.2 times India's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 50 shared years of data; in 1975 it was China ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.85 million | 1.74 million | 110,858 | China |
| 1980s | 3.29 million | 3.17 million | 122,982 | China |
| 1990s | 43.35 million | 12.79 million | 30.56 million | China |
| 2000s | 285.19 million | 40.57 million | 244.61 million | China |
| 2010s | 238.86 million | 27.09 million | 211.76 million | China |
| 2020s | 177.59 million | 28.29 million | 149.30 million | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fixed telephone subscriptions, China or India?
- China, at 166.51 million against 39.24 million in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in fixed telephone subscriptions between China and India?
- 127.27 million, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 50 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for fixed telephone subscriptions?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as Fixed telephone subscriptions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
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.