South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Population coverage of mobile cellular telephony
Population coverage of mobile cellular telephony over time
- South Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 99.8% against 82.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 17.1%.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.
Across all 12 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 4th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 3rd of 40 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 80.0% | 29.0% | 51.0% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 95.6% | 54.5% | 41.1% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population coverage of mobile cellular telephony, South Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa?
- South Africa, at 99.8% against 82.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2007.
- What is the difference in population coverage of mobile cellular telephony between South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 17.1%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2007.
- How do South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for population coverage of mobile cellular telephony?
- South Africa ranks 4th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 3rd of 40 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report and database, and World Bank estimates, published as Population coverage of mobile cellular telephony (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data. Percentage of population covered by mobile cellular telephony refers to the percentage of a country’s inhabitants that live within areas served by a mobile cellular signal, irrespective of whether or not they choose to use it. This should not be confused with the percentage of the land area covered by a mobile cellular signal or the percentage of the population that subscribe to mobile cellular service. Note that this measures the theoretical ability to use mobile cellular services if one has a cellular telephone and a subscription.