Mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Mobile cellular subscriptions was 90.4 per 100 people in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–2025
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 90.4 per 100 people for mobile cellular subscriptions in 2025. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 90.4 per 100 people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 per 100 people, in 1960.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 34th 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 per 100 people | — |
| 1988 | 0 per 100 people | — |
| 1989 | 0.0008 per 100 people | — |
| 1990 | 0.0015 per 100 people | +92.5% |
| 1991 | 0.0018 per 100 people | +18.6% |
| 1992 | 0.0035 per 100 people | +90.1% |
| 1993 | 0.0115 per 100 people | +231.1% |
| 1994 | 0.0706 per 100 people | +514.9% |
| 1995 | 0.103 per 100 people | +45.8% |
| 1996 | 0.1806 per 100 people | +75.3% |
| 1997 | 0.3407 per 100 people | +88.7% |
| 1998 | 0.6132 per 100 people | +79.9% |
| 1999 | 0.9979 per 100 people | +62.7% |
| 2000 | 1.72 per 100 people | +72.4% |
| 2001 | 2.5 per 100 people | +45.1% |
| 2002 | 3.58 per 100 people | +43.4% |
| 2003 | 4.96 per 100 people | +38.5% |
| 2004 | 7.39 per 100 people | +49.0% |
| 2005 | 11.99 per 100 people | +62.3% |
| 2006 | 17.68 per 100 people | +47.4% |
| 2007 | 23.06 per 100 people | +30.4% |
| 2008 | 31.7 per 100 people | +37.5% |
| 2009 | 37.41 per 100 people | +18.0% |
| 2010 | 44.09 per 100 people | +17.9% |
| 2011 | 52.16 per 100 people | +18.3% |
| 2012 | 58.58 per 100 people | +12.3% |
| 2013 | 64.71 per 100 people | +10.5% |
| 2014 | 69.38 per 100 people | +7.2% |
| 2015 | 73.3 per 100 people | +5.7% |
| 2016 | 71.5 per 100 people | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 70.8 per 100 people | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 74.4 per 100 people | +5.1% |
| 2019 | 77.4 per 100 people | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 80.8 per 100 people | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 83 per 100 people | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 87.6 per 100 people | +5.5% |
| 2023 | 90 per 100 people | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 89.2 per 100 people | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 90.4 per 100 people | +1.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +514.9% | 0.0115 per 100 people | 0.0706 per 100 people |
| 1993 | +231.1% | 0.0035 per 100 people | 0.0115 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 | 0.0001 per 100 people | 0 per 100 people | 0.0008 per 100 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2324 per 100 people | 0.0015 per 100 people | 0.9979 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.2 per 100 people | 1.72 per 100 people | 37.41 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.63 per 100 people | 44.09 per 100 people | 77.4 per 100 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.83 per 100 people | 80.8 per 100 people | 90.4 per 100 people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More infrastructure data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 1.20 billion (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 5.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 0.4 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.0038 units per person (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -16.67 % change on previous year (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 5.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 0.9049 units per person (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, gaps filled 1.20 billion (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Mobile cellular subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa was 90.4 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 90.4 per 100 people in 2025.
- What is the lowest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 per 100 people in 1960.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for mobile cellular subscriptions?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is mobile cellular subscriptions rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.