What is fixed telephone subscriptions in North America?

Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America was 23 per 100 people in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?

The highest recorded value was 68.15 per 100 people in 2000.

What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?

The lowest recorded value was 23 per 100 people in 2025.

How does North America rank for fixed telephone subscriptions?

North America ranks 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.

Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in North America?

Over the last ten years it is down 40.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this North America data come from?

The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America

Name: Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America
Creator: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

North America: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 23 per 100 people in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

23 per 100 people

Change on year

down 4.2%

Rank

7th

of 47 groups

All-time high

68.15 per 100 people

in 2000

All-time low

23 per 100 people

in 2025

Years of data

1960–2025

Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America, 1960–2025

Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.

Analysis

In 2025, fixed telephone subscriptions in North America stood at 23 per 100 people. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.

The figure is down 4.2% on the previous year and down 40.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in North America peaked at 68.15 per 100 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 23 per 100 people, in 2025.

That places North America 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America, year by year

Annual values for Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) in North America, 1960 to 2025.
Year	per 100 people	Change
1960	27.95 per 100 people	—
1961	26.52 per 100 people	-5.1%
1962	26.52 per 100 people	+0.0%
1963	26.52 per 100 people	+0.0%
1964	26.52 per 100 people	+0.0%
1965	30.35 per 100 people	+14.4%
1966	28.97 per 100 people	-4.6%
1967	28.97 per 100 people	-0.0%
1968	28.97 per 100 people	-0.0%
1969	28.97 per 100 people	-0.0%
1970	34.07 per 100 people	+17.6%
1971	32.72 per 100 people	-4.0%
1972	32.72 per 100 people	-0.0%
1973	32.72 per 100 people	-0.0%
1974	32.72 per 100 people	-0.0%
1975	37.88 per 100 people	+15.8%
1976	38.62 per 100 people	+2.0%
1977	39.45 per 100 people	+2.2%
1978	40.4 per 100 people	+2.4%
1979	41.22 per 100 people	+2.0%
1980	42.1 per 100 people	+2.1%
1981	46.25 per 100 people	+9.9%
1982	46.56 per 100 people	+0.7%
1983	47.34 per 100 people	+1.7%
1984	48.14 per 100 people	+1.7%
1985	49.22 per 100 people	+2.2%
1986	49.78 per 100 people	+1.1%
1987	51.16 per 100 people	+2.8%
1988	52.42 per 100 people	+2.5%
1989	53.7 per 100 people	+2.4%
1990	54.91 per 100 people	+2.3%
1991	55.52 per 100 people	+1.1%
1992	56.29 per 100 people	+1.4%
1993	57.34 per 100 people	+1.9%
1994	58.61 per 100 people	+2.2%
1995	60.09 per 100 people	+2.5%
1996	61.77 per 100 people	+2.8%
1997	63.7 per 100 people	+3.1%
1998	65.09 per 100 people	+2.2%
1999	67.8 per 100 people	+4.2%
2000	68.15 per 100 people	+0.5%
2001	67.21 per 100 people	-1.4%
2002	65.66 per 100 people	-2.3%
2003	63.07 per 100 people	-3.9%
2004	60.84 per 100 people	-3.5%
2005	58.75 per 100 people	-3.4%
2006	55.89 per 100 people	-4.9%
2007	52.66 per 100 people	-5.8%
2008	53.42 per 100 people	+1.4%
2009	50.16 per 100 people	-6.1%
2010	48.7 per 100 people	-2.9%
2011	46.41 per 100 people	-4.7%
2012	44.5 per 100 people	-4.1%
2013	42.38 per 100 people	-4.8%
2014	40.54 per 100 people	-4.3%
2015	38.8 per 100 people	-4.3%
2016	37.3 per 100 people	-3.9%
2017	35.4 per 100 people	-5.1%
2018	33.3 per 100 people	-5.9%
2019	32 per 100 people	-3.9%
2020	30.5 per 100 people	-4.7%
2021	28.9 per 100 people	-5.2%
2022	26.9 per 100 people	-6.9%
2023	25.1 per 100 people	-6.7%
2024	24 per 100 people	-4.4%
2025	23 per 100 people	-4.2%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	28.03 per 100 people	26.52 per 100 people	30.35 per 100 people	10
1970s	36.25 per 100 people	32.72 per 100 people	41.22 per 100 people	10
1980s	48.67 per 100 people	42.1 per 100 people	53.7 per 100 people	10
1990s	60.11 per 100 people	54.91 per 100 people	67.8 per 100 people	10
2000s	59.58 per 100 people	50.16 per 100 people	68.15 per 100 people	10
2010s	39.93 per 100 people	32 per 100 people	48.7 per 100 people	10
2020s	26.4 per 100 people	23 per 100 people	30.5 per 100 people	6

Countries ranked near North America

4 British Virgin Islands 61.93 per 100 people compare
5 France 56.11 per 100 people compare
6 Portugal 53 per 100 people compare
7 Cayman Islands 49.97 per 100 people compare
8 Japan 47.7 per 100 people compare
9 Malta 47.35 per 100 people compare
10 San Marino 46.93 per 100 people compare

See the full ranking of 261 places →

More infrastructure data for North America

Mobile cellular subscriptions 434.00 million (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions 112 per 100 people (2025)
Fixed telephone subscriptions 89.00 million (2025)
Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.2321 units per person (2025)
Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -4.3 % change on previous year (2025)
Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 89.00 million (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.13 units per person (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions, gaps filled 434.00 million (2025)

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is fixed telephone subscriptions in North America?: Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America was 23 per 100 people in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?: The highest recorded value was 68.15 per 100 people in 2000.
What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?: The lowest recorded value was 23 per 100 people in 2025.
How does North America rank for fixed telephone subscriptions?: North America ranks 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in North America?: Over the last ten years it is down 40.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this North America data come from?: The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America. Statizoid, drawing on World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 03 October 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/stat/fixed-telephone-subscriptions-per-100-people/north-america/

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About this data

Indicator: Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)
Unit: per 100 people
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 261 places, 14,535 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed: 01 October 2026

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.