Mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Mobile cellular subscriptions was 116.8 per 100 people in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean, 1960–2025
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 116.8 per 100 people for mobile cellular subscriptions in 2025. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 116.8 per 100 people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 per 100 people, in 1960.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 19th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | per 100 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1965 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1970 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1975 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1976 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1977 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1978 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1979 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1980 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1981 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1982 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1983 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1984 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1985 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1986 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1987 | 0.001 per 100 people | — |
| 1988 | 0.0029 per 100 people | +200.6% |
| 1989 | 0.0073 per 100 people | +153.3% |
| 1990 | 0.0284 per 100 people | +291.1% |
| 1991 | 0.0663 per 100 people | +133.1% |
| 1992 | 0.1415 per 100 people | +113.6% |
| 1993 | 0.2439 per 100 people | +72.3% |
| 1994 | 0.4762 per 100 people | +95.2% |
| 1995 | 0.815 per 100 people | +71.1% |
| 1996 | 1.36 per 100 people | +66.5% |
| 1997 | 2.56 per 100 people | +88.8% |
| 1998 | 4.2 per 100 people | +64.0% |
| 1999 | 7.81 per 100 people | +86.0% |
| 2000 | 12.23 per 100 people | +56.6% |
| 2001 | 16.03 per 100 people | +31.0% |
| 2002 | 18.96 per 100 people | +18.3% |
| 2003 | 23.27 per 100 people | +22.7% |
| 2004 | 31.8 per 100 people | +36.7% |
| 2005 | 43.25 per 100 people | +36.0% |
| 2006 | 54.42 per 100 people | +25.8% |
| 2007 | 67.13 per 100 people | +23.3% |
| 2008 | 79.94 per 100 people | +19.1% |
| 2009 | 88.25 per 100 people | +10.4% |
| 2010 | 97.29 per 100 people | +10.2% |
| 2011 | 105.95 per 100 people | +8.9% |
| 2012 | 110.52 per 100 people | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 116.17 per 100 people | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 115.73 per 100 people | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 112.2 per 100 people | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 110.6 per 100 people | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 107.3 per 100 people | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 105.7 per 100 people | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 103.3 per 100 people | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 102.8 per 100 people | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 108.7 per 100 people | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 109.9 per 100 people | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 112.6 per 100 people | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 114.6 per 100 people | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 116.8 per 100 people | +1.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +291.1% | 0.0073 per 100 people | 0.0284 per 100 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 0 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 6 |
| 1980s | 0.0011 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 0.0073 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.77 per 100 people | 0.0284 per 100 people | 7.81 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 43.53 per 100 people | 12.23 per 100 people | 88.25 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 108.48 per 100 people | 97.29 per 100 people | 116.17 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 110.9 per 100 people | 102.8 per 100 people | 116.8 per 100 people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More infrastructure data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 779.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 80.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 12 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.12 units per person (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -3.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 80.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.17 units per person (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, gaps filled 779.00 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Mobile cellular subscriptions in Latin America & Caribbean was 116.8 per 100 people in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
- What is the highest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 116.8 per 100 people in 2025.
- What is the lowest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 per 100 people in 1960.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for mobile cellular subscriptions?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is mobile cellular subscriptions rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.