Fixed telephone subscriptions in World
World: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 9.9 per 100 people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
9.9 per 100 people
Change on year
down 2.9%
Rank
21st
of 47 groups
All-time high
19.2 per 100 people
in 2006
All-time low
5.02 per 100 people
in 1969
Years of data
59
1966–2025
Fixed telephone subscriptions in World, 1966–2025
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for fixed telephone subscriptions in World is 9.9 per 100 people, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 2.9% on the previous year and down 29.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in World peaked at 19.2 per 100 people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 5.02 per 100 people, in 1969.
World ranks 21st of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 59 years of available data.
Fixed telephone subscriptions in World, year by year
| Year | per 100 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 5.15 per 100 people | — |
| 1967 | 5.11 per 100 people | -0.8% |
| 1968 | 5.07 per 100 people | -0.9% |
| 1969 | 5.02 per 100 people | -0.9% |
| 1971 | 6.08 per 100 people | +21.1% |
| 1972 | 6.03 per 100 people | -0.9% |
| 1973 | 5.97 per 100 people | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 5.91 per 100 people | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 6.02 per 100 people | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 6.24 per 100 people | +3.7% |
| 1977 | 6.53 per 100 people | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 6.86 per 100 people | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 7.16 per 100 people | +4.4% |
| 1980 | 7.52 per 100 people | +5.1% |
| 1981 | 7.69 per 100 people | +2.2% |
| 1982 | 7.73 per 100 people | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 7.91 per 100 people | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 8.12 per 100 people | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 8.36 per 100 people | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 8.55 per 100 people | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 8.8 per 100 people | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 9.1 per 100 people | +3.5% |
| 1989 | 9.42 per 100 people | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 9.79 per 100 people | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 10.1 per 100 people | +3.2% |
| 1992 | 10.43 per 100 people | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 10.84 per 100 people | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 11.39 per 100 people | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 12.02 per 100 people | +5.6% |
| 1996 | 12.71 per 100 people | +5.7% |
| 1997 | 13.46 per 100 people | +5.8% |
| 1998 | 14.05 per 100 people | +4.4% |
| 1999 | 14.96 per 100 people | +6.5% |
| 2000 | 15.91 per 100 people | +6.4% |
| 2001 | 16.66 per 100 people | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 17.22 per 100 people | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 17.83 per 100 people | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 18.69 per 100 people | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 19.1 per 100 people | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 19.2 per 100 people | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 18.8 per 100 people | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 18.5 per 100 people | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 18.4 per 100 people | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 17.8 per 100 people | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 17.2 per 100 people | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 16.7 per 100 people | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 16 per 100 people | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 15.1 per 100 people | -5.6% |
| 2015 | 14.1 per 100 people | -6.6% |
| 2016 | 13.4 per 100 people | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 13 per 100 people | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 12.4 per 100 people | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 11.9 per 100 people | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 11.5 per 100 people | -3.4% |
| 2021 | 11.2 per 100 people | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 10.9 per 100 people | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 10.6 per 100 people | -2.8% |
| 2024 | 10.2 per 100 people | -3.8% |
| 2025 | 9.9 per 100 people | -2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.09 per 100 people | 5.02 per 100 people | 5.15 per 100 people | 4 |
| 1970s | 6.31 per 100 people | 5.91 per 100 people | 7.16 per 100 people | 9 |
| 1980s | 8.32 per 100 people | 7.52 per 100 people | 9.42 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.97 per 100 people | 9.79 per 100 people | 14.96 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.03 per 100 people | 15.91 per 100 people | 19.2 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.76 per 100 people | 11.9 per 100 people | 17.8 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.72 per 100 people | 9.9 per 100 people | 11.5 per 100 people | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
- 18 Guam 43.17 per 100 people compare
- 19 Barbados 42.97 per 100 people compare
- 20 Northern Mariana Islands 42.26 per 100 people compare
- 21 South Korea 41.17 per 100 people compare
- 22 Luxembourg 39.81 per 100 people compare
- 23 Austria 38.17 per 100 people compare
- 24 Spain 38.05 per 100 people compare
More infrastructure data for World
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 9.17 billion (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 111.5 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 815.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.0992 units per person (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -2.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 815.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.12 units per person (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, gaps filled 9.17 billion (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fixed telephone subscriptions in World?
- Fixed telephone subscriptions in World was 9.9 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 World?
- The highest recorded value was 19.2 per 100 people in 2006.
- What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.02 per 100 people in 1969.
- How does World rank for fixed telephone subscriptions?
- World ranks 21st out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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 — 59 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.