Fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia

Australia: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 5.95 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5.95 million
Change on year
down 8.0%
World rank
24th
of 212 countries
All-time high
10.71 million
in 2009
All-time low
1.56 million
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia, 1960–2024

2.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M196019922024

Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Analysis

In 2024, fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia stood at 5.95 million.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.0% on the previous year and down 35.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia peaked at 10.71 million in 2009 and was at its lowest, 1.56 million, in 1960.

Australia ranks 24th of 212 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.79 million 1.56 million 2.01 million 10
1970s 3.33 million 2.70 million 4.45 million 10
1980s 6.06 million 4.74 million 7.42 million 10
1990s 8.82 million 7.79 million 9.76 million 10
2000s 10.12 million 9.37 million 10.71 million 10
2010s 9.10 million 6.20 million 10.62 million 10
2020s 6.20 million 5.46 million 6.72 million 5

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 21 Argentina 6.42 million compare
  2. 22 Uzbekistan 6.32 million compare
  3. 23 Colombia 6.32 million compare
  4. 25 Portugal 5.53 million compare
  5. 26 Iraq 5.28 million compare
  6. 27 Greece 4.69 million compare

See the full ranking of 260 places →

More infrastructure data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia?
Fixed telephone subscriptions in Australia was 5.95 million in 2024, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 10.71 million in 2009.
What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 1.56 million in 1960.
How does Australia rank for fixed telephone subscriptions?
Australia ranks 24th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions. 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

Indicator
Fixed telephone subscriptions
Source
World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
260 places, 14,482 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.