Which has higher fixed telephone subscriptions, Japan or United States?

United States, at 81.55 million against 59.33 million in Japan as of 2024.

What is the difference in fixed telephone subscriptions between Japan and United States?

22.22 million, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?

64 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2023.

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.

Japan vs United States: Fixed telephone subscriptions

Japan

59.33 million

in 2023

United States

81.55 million

in 2024

Japan rank

3rd

United States rank

2nd

Fixed telephone subscriptions over time

Japan
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 81.55 million against 59.33 million in Japan, a difference of 22.22 million.

That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times Japan's.

Across all 64 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

Japan ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd of 214 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	United States	Difference	Ahead
1960s	5.52 million	53.78 million	48.26 million	United States
1970s	26.05 million	77.36 million	51.31 million	United States
1980s	45.18 million	114.62 million	69.43 million	United States
1990s	60.45 million	158.97 million	98.53 million	United States
2000s	58.44 million	175.06 million	116.62 million	United States
2010s	64.01 million	127.25 million	63.25 million	United States
2020s	60.81 million	93.70 million	32.89 million	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher fixed telephone subscriptions, Japan or United States?: United States, at 81.55 million against 59.33 million in Japan as of 2024.
What is the difference in fixed telephone subscriptions between Japan and United States?: 22.22 million, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?: 64 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2023.
How do Japan and United States rank globally for fixed telephone subscriptions?: Japan ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd 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.

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Japan vs United States: Fixed telephone subscriptions. Statizoid, drawing on World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/fixed-telephone-subscriptions/japan/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Fixed telephone subscriptions
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 261 places, 14,489 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

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.