Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex was 65.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
65.5%
Change on year
up 0.8%
Rank
33rd
of 38 groups
All-time high
65.5%
in 2025
All-time low
56.1%
in 2019
Years of data
7
2019–2025
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2019–2025
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 65.5% for proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in 2025. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 33rd of 38 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 56.1% | — |
| 2020 | 59.8% | +6.6% |
| 2021 | 62.9% | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 63.9% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 64.5% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 65.0% | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 65.5% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 56.1% | 56.1% | 56.1% | 1 |
| 2020s | 63.6% | 59.8% | 65.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More science & technology data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Scientific and technical journal articles 48,022 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per square kilometre 0.002 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Digital connectivity composite index -1.24 standard deviations from the yearly mean (2025)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, annual growth rate -0.2159 % change on previous year (2023)
- Patent applications, nonresidents 8,160 (2020)
- Patent applications, residents 1,834 (2020)
- Proportion of individuals using the Internet 35.7% (2025)
- Proportion of population covered by at least a 2G mobile network 94.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex in Sub-Saharan Africa was 65.5% in 2025, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 65.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.1% in 2019.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 33rd out of 38 groups with data for 2025.
- Is proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).