United States vs World: Fixed telephone subscriptions
United States
81.55 million
in 2024
World
815.00 million
in 2025
United States rank
2nd
World rank
1st
Fixed telephone subscriptions over time
- United States
- World
How they compare
World currently reports 815.00 million against 81.55 million in United States, a difference of 733.45 million.
That makes World's figure about 10.0 times United States's.
Across all 53 years both countries report, World has been ahead every year.
United States ranks 2nd and World ranks 1st of 214 countries.
World has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States | World | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 58.29 million | 116.34 million | 58.05 million | World |
| 1970s | 78.29 million | 215.03 million | 136.74 million | World |
| 1980s | 114.62 million | 397.20 million | 282.59 million | World |
| 1990s | 158.97 million | 683.78 million | 524.80 million | World |
| 2000s | 163.34 million | 1.25 billion | 1.09 billion | World |
| 2010s | 127.25 million | 1.08 billion | 949.36 million | World |
| 2020s | 91.27 million | 871.20 million | 779.93 million | World |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fixed telephone subscriptions, United States or World?
- World, at 815.00 million against 81.55 million in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fixed telephone subscriptions between United States and World?
- 733.45 million, with World ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States and World?
- 53 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2024.
- How do United States and World rank globally for fixed telephone subscriptions?
- United States ranks 2nd and World ranks 1st 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.