Small states vs Sri Lanka: Mobile cellular subscriptions
Mobile cellular subscriptions over time
- Small states
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Small states currently reports 32.00 million against 30.62 million in Sri Lanka, a difference of 1.38 million.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 53 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
Small states ranks 44th and Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 47 groups.
Across the 7 decades both report, Small states averaged higher in 3 and Sri Lanka in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Small states | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 3,304 | 0 | 3,304 | Small states |
| 1990s | 332,786 | 71,741 | 261,044 | Small states |
| 2000s | 7.33 million | 4.98 million | 2.35 million | Small states |
| 2010s | 18.94 million | 23.40 million | 4.46 million | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 24.20 million | 31.69 million | 7.49 million | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher mobile cellular subscriptions, Small states or Sri Lanka?
- Small states, at 32.00 million against 30.62 million in Sri Lanka as of 2025.
- What is the difference in mobile cellular subscriptions between Small states and Sri Lanka?
- 1.38 million, with Small states ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Small states and Sri Lanka?
- 53 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Small states and Sri Lanka rank globally for mobile cellular subscriptions?
- Small states ranks 44th and Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 47 groups.
- 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.
Individual pages
About this data
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.