South Korea vs Upper middle income: Fixed telephone subscriptions
South Korea
21.29 million
in 2024
Upper middle income
313.00 million
in 2025
South Korea rank
11th
Upper middle income rank
9th
Fixed telephone subscriptions over time
- South Korea
- Upper middle income
How they compare
Upper middle income currently reports 313.00 million against 21.29 million in South Korea, a difference of 291.71 million.
That makes Upper middle income's figure about 14.7 times South Korea's.
Across all 35 years both countries report, Upper middle income has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 11th and Upper middle income ranks 9th of 214 countries.
Upper middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Upper middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.61 million | 20.09 million | 18.48 million | Upper middle income |
| 1980s | 6.52 million | 38.56 million | 32.04 million | Upper middle income |
| 1990s | 18.21 million | 129.10 million | 110.89 million | Upper middle income |
| 2010s | 26.88 million | 394.08 million | 367.20 million | Upper middle income |
| 2020s | 22.67 million | 347.40 million | 324.73 million | Upper middle income |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fixed telephone subscriptions, South Korea or Upper middle income?
- Upper middle income, at 313.00 million against 21.29 million in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fixed telephone subscriptions between South Korea and Upper middle income?
- 291.71 million, with Upper middle income ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Upper middle income?
- 35 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2024.
- How do South Korea and Upper middle income rank globally for fixed telephone subscriptions?
- South Korea ranks 11th and Upper middle income ranks 9th 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.