South Africa vs Vietnam: Mobile cellular subscriptions

South Africa
114.79 million
in 2024
Vietnam
128.87 million
in 2024
South Africa rank
16th
Vietnam rank
14th

Mobile cellular subscriptions over time

  • South Africa
  • Vietnam
050.0M100.0M150.0M196019922024

How they compare

Vietnam currently reports 128.87 million against 114.79 million in South Africa, a difference of 14.08 million.

That makes Vietnam's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 53 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Vietnam ahead.

South Africa ranks 16th and Vietnam ranks 14th of 214 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 3 and Vietnam in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Vietnam Difference Ahead
1960s 0 0 0
1970s 0 0 0
1980s 398 0 398 South Africa
1990s 1.23 million 82,160 1.14 million South Africa
2000s 27.79 million 25.83 million 1.96 million South Africa
2010s 78.72 million 126.83 million 48.10 million Vietnam
2020s 103.95 million 134.40 million 30.45 million Vietnam

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher mobile cellular subscriptions, South Africa or Vietnam?
Vietnam, at 128.87 million against 114.79 million in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in mobile cellular subscriptions between South Africa and Vietnam?
14.08 million, with Vietnam ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Vietnam?
53 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do South Africa and Vietnam rank globally for mobile cellular subscriptions?
South Africa ranks 16th and Vietnam ranks 14th 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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South Africa vs Vietnam: 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/south-africa/viet-nam/

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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.