Fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa
South Africa: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 1.58 per 100 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa, 1960–2024
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.58 per 100 people for fixed telephone subscriptions in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of down 26.1% on the previous year and down 75.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa peaked at 11.8 per 100 people in 1999 and was at its lowest, 1.58 per 100 people, in 2024.
South Africa ranks 164th of 214 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa, year by year
| Year | per 100 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.93 per 100 people | — |
| 1961 | 3.8 per 100 people | -3.4% |
| 1962 | 3.8 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 3.8 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 3.8 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 3.93 per 100 people | +3.5% |
| 1966 | 3.89 per 100 people | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 3.89 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 3.89 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 3.89 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 4.1 per 100 people | +5.1% |
| 1971 | 4.15 per 100 people | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 4.15 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 4.15 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 4.15 per 100 people | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 4.48 per 100 people | +8.0% |
| 1976 | 4.64 per 100 people | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 4.82 per 100 people | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 5 per 100 people | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 5.25 per 100 people | +5.0% |
| 1980 | 5.54 per 100 people | +5.4% |
| 1981 | 5.92 per 100 people | +6.8% |
| 1982 | 6.24 per 100 people | +5.5% |
| 1983 | 6.5 per 100 people | +4.2% |
| 1984 | 6.57 per 100 people | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 6.81 per 100 people | +3.6% |
| 1986 | 7.26 per 100 people | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 7.39 per 100 people | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 7.66 per 100 people | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 7.97 per 100 people | +3.9% |
| 1990 | 8.14 per 100 people | +2.2% |
| 1991 | 8.24 per 100 people | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 8.15 per 100 people | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 8.3 per 100 people | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 8.58 per 100 people | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 8.99 per 100 people | +4.8% |
| 1996 | 9.44 per 100 people | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 10.2 per 100 people | +8.1% |
| 1998 | 11 per 100 people | +7.8% |
| 1999 | 11.8 per 100 people | +7.3% |
| 2000 | 10.52 per 100 people | -10.8% |
| 2001 | 10.35 per 100 people | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 10.24 per 100 people | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 10.12 per 100 people | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 10.01 per 100 people | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 9.89 per 100 people | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 9.78 per 100 people | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 9.66 per 100 people | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 9.54 per 100 people | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 9.41 per 100 people | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 9.29 per 100 people | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 9.16 per 100 people | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 9.01 per 100 people | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 7.09 per 100 people | -21.4% |
| 2014 | 6.56 per 100 people | -7.4% |
| 2015 | 7.28 per 100 people | +11.0% |
| 2016 | 7.9 per 100 people | +8.5% |
| 2017 | 8.35 per 100 people | +5.7% |
| 2018 | 5.71 per 100 people | -31.6% |
| 2019 | 3.4 per 100 people | -40.5% |
| 2020 | 3.47 per 100 people | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 2.39 per 100 people | -30.9% |
| 2022 | 2.1 per 100 people | -12.3% |
| 2023 | 2.14 per 100 people | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 1.58 per 100 people | -26.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.58 per 100 people is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.63 per 100 people, 15% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.58 per 100 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.3436 per 100 people, 4.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | -40.5% | 5.71 per 100 people | 3.4 per 100 people |
| 2018 | -31.6% | 8.35 per 100 people | 5.71 per 100 people |
| 2021 | -30.9% | 3.47 per 100 people | 2.39 per 100 people |
| 2024 | -26.1% | 2.14 per 100 people | 1.58 per 100 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.87 per 100 people | 3.8 per 100 people | 3.93 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.49 per 100 people | 4.1 per 100 people | 5.25 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.79 per 100 people | 5.54 per 100 people | 7.97 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.28 per 100 people | 8.14 per 100 people | 11.8 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.95 per 100 people | 9.41 per 100 people | 10.52 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.37 per 100 people | 3.4 per 100 people | 9.29 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.34 per 100 people | 1.58 per 100 people | 3.47 per 100 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More infrastructure data for South Africa
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 114.79 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 179.34 per 100 people (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 1.01 million (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.0158 units per person (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -25.13 % change on previous year (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 1.01 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.79 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, gaps filled 114.79 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa?
- Fixed telephone subscriptions in South Africa was 1.58 per 100 people in 2024, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
- What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.8 per 100 people in 1999.
- What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.58 per 100 people in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for fixed telephone subscriptions?
- South Africa ranks 164th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 75.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.