South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers

South Africa
68.13 million
in 2011
Sub-Saharan Africa
478.47 million
in 2011
South Africa rank
3rd
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
2nd

Mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers over time

  • South Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
0100.0M200.0M300.0M400.0M500.0M196019852011

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 478.47 million against 68.13 million in South Africa, a difference of 410.34 million.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 7.0 times South Africa's.

Across all 39 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 3rd and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 2nd of 53 countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
1960s 650,013 844,742 194,729 Sub-Saharan Africa
1970s 1.25 million 1.84 million 588,490 Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s 2.30 million 3.53 million 1.22 million Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s 5.33 million 8.05 million 2.72 million Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s 32.49 million 124.08 million 91.59 million Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s 61.36 million 438.59 million 377.23 million Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers, South Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa, at 478.47 million against 68.13 million in South Africa as of 2011.
What is the difference in mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers between South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
410.34 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
39 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2011.
How do South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers?
South Africa ranks 3rd and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 2nd of 53 countries.
Where does this data come from?
International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database, published as Mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers. Statizoid, drawing on International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/mobile-and-fixed-line-telephone-subscribers/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers
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

International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database.