Nigeria vs Pakistan: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Nigeria
164.65 million
in 2024
Pakistan
193.11 million
in 2024
Nigeria rank
10th
Pakistan rank
8th

Mobile cellular subscriptions over time

  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M196019922024

How they compare

Pakistan currently reports 193.11 million against 164.65 million in Nigeria, a difference of 28.46 million.

That makes Pakistan's figure about 1.2 times Nigeria's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 53 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Pakistan ahead.

Nigeria ranks 10th and Pakistan ranks 8th of 214 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 2 and Pakistan in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria Pakistan Difference Ahead
1960s 0 0 0
1970s 0 0 0
1980s 0 0 0
1990s 10,885 77,040 66,155 Pakistan
2000s 24.30 million 30.27 million 5.97 million Pakistan
2010s 136.89 million 131.80 million 5.08 million Nigeria
2020s 202.13 million 187.93 million 14.20 million Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher mobile cellular subscriptions, Nigeria or Pakistan?
Pakistan, at 193.11 million against 164.65 million in Nigeria as of 2024.
What is the difference in mobile cellular subscriptions between Nigeria and Pakistan?
28.46 million, with Pakistan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Pakistan?
53 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do Nigeria and Pakistan rank globally for mobile cellular subscriptions?
Nigeria ranks 10th and Pakistan ranks 8th of 214 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as Mobile cellular subscriptions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Nigeria vs Pakistan: Mobile cellular subscriptions. Statizoid, drawing on World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/mobile-cellular-subscriptions/nigeria/pakistan/

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About this data

Indicator
Mobile cellular subscriptions
Source
World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
261 places, 13,046 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions are subscriptions to a public mobile telephone service that provide access to the PSTN using cellular technology. The indicator includes (and is split into) the number of postpaid subscriptions, and the number of active prepaid accounts (i.e. that have been used during the last three months). The indicator applies to all mobile cellular subscriptions that offer voice communications. It excludes subscriptions via data cards or USB modems, subscriptions to public mobile data services, private trunked mobile radio, telepoint, radio paging and telemetry services.