Residential monthly telephone subscription (current US$) by country
Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data. Monthly subscription refers to the recurring fixed charge for subscribing to the PSTN. The charge should cover the rental of the line, but not the rental of the terminal (e.g., telephone set) where the terminal equipment...
What the numbers show
Residential monthly telephone subscription (current US$) is currently reported for 51 countries. The highest value is 31.62 current US$ in Gabon; the lowest is 0.0042 current US$ in Sierra Leone.
The median across all reporting countries is 5.42 current US$, and the mean is 6.49 current US$.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 7,465.
Over the past decade 34 countries rose and 16 fell. The largest increase was in Cameroon (up 787.7%), and the largest decrease in Sierra Leone (down 99.1%).
Residential monthly telephone subscription: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabon | 31.62 current US$ | 2008 | up 91.3% | falling |
| 2 | Cameroon | 21.19 current US$ | 2011 | up 787.7% | volatile |
| 3 | South Africa | 19.28 current US$ | 2011 | up 164.7% | volatile |
| 4 | Cote d'Ivoire | 15 current US$ | 2011 | up 161.9% | rising |
| 5 | Congo | 12.86 current US$ | 1994 | — | falling |
| 6 | Madagascar | 12.44 current US$ | 2010 | up 110.5% | rising |
| 7 | Botswana | 12.28 current US$ | 2011 | up 348.4% | volatile |
| 8 | Angola | 10.08 current US$ | 2011 | down 32.5% | volatile |
| 9 | Namibia | 9.82 current US$ | 2011 | up 96.8% | falling |
| 10 | Togo | 9.38 current US$ | 2011 | up 301.8% | rising |
| 11 | Mauritania | 8.52 current US$ | 2011 | up 46.9% | falling |
| 12 | Nigeria | 8.45 current US$ | 2011 | up 87.9% | volatile |
| 13 | Mozambique | 7.71 current US$ | 2011 | down 8.0% | rising |
| 14 | Niger | 7.6 current US$ | 2011 | up 97.8% | rising |
| 15 | Seychelles | 7.06 current US$ | 2011 | down 17.2% | falling |
| 16 | Lesotho | 6.83 current US$ | 2010 | up 58.0% | rising |
| 17 | Malawi | 6.7 current US$ | 2011 | up 383.7% | volatile |
| 18 | Kenya | 6.53 current US$ | 2011 | up 44.9% | rising |
| 19 | Comoros | 6.36 current US$ | 2011 | up 55.3% | flat |
| 20 | Burkina Faso | 6.25 current US$ | 2011 | up 29.5% | rising |
| 21 | Chad | 6.06 current US$ | 2010 | down 2.5% | falling |
| 22 | Sao Tome and Principe | 5.96 current US$ | 2011 | up 31.7% | rising |
| 23 | Central African Republic | 5.82 current US$ | 2009 | down 9.2% | falling |
| 24 | Benin | 5.72 current US$ | 2011 | up 69.5% | flat |
| 25 | Djibouti | 5.63 current US$ | 2011 | down 71.4% | falling |
| 26 | Equatorial Guinea | 5.42 current US$ | 1998 | down 55.1% | falling |
| 27 | Senegal | 5.12 current US$ | 2011 | up 55.3% | rising |
| 28 | Cape Verde | 4.95 current US$ | 2011 | up 143.8% | rising |
| 29 | Mali | 4.93 current US$ | 2011 | up 88.1% | rising |
| 30 | Uganda | 4.88 current US$ | 2011 | down 14.4% | volatile |
| 31 | Sudan | 4.87 current US$ | 2011 | up 151.6% | volatile |
| 32 | Tunisia | 4.26 current US$ | 2011 | up 129.6% | falling |
| 33 | Zambia | 4.11 current US$ | 2011 | up 197.2% | volatile |
| 34 | Tanzania | 4.07 current US$ | 2011 | up 16.2% | rising |
| 35 | Zimbabwe | 3.6 current US$ | 2000 | up 71.1% | rising |
| 36 | Guinea-Bissau | 3.43 current US$ | 1997 | up 49.7% | rising |
| 37 | Eswatini | 3.24 current US$ | 2011 | up 165.4% | rising |
| 38 | Mauritius | 3.14 current US$ | 2011 | up 52.2% | falling |
| 39 | Eritrea | 2.86 current US$ | 2011 | up 17.7% | falling |
| 40 | Morocco | 2.35 current US$ | 2011 | down 68.4% | volatile |
| 41 | Egypt | 2.22 current US$ | 2011 | up 135.5% | rising |
| 42 | Algeria | 2.06 current US$ | 2011 | down 20.6% | falling |
| 43 | Somalia | 2.06 current US$ | 2005 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 44 | Rwanda | 1.97 current US$ | 2011 | down 12.9% | rising |
| 45 | Ghana | 1.65 current US$ | 2011 | up 374.3% | rising |
| 46 | Libya | 1.27 current US$ | 2006 | down 72.5% | falling |
| 47 | Gambia | 1.24 current US$ | 2011 | down 35.3% | falling |
| 48 | Guinea | 1.03 current US$ | 2010 | down 69.5% | falling |
| 49 | Burundi | 0.8293 current US$ | 2010 | up 42.3% | volatile |
| 50 | Ethiopia | 0.5444 current US$ | 2011 | down 42.4% | falling |
| 51 | Sierra Leone | 0.0042 current US$ | 2010 | down 99.1% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 5.96 current US$
- Sub-Saharan Africa 5.96 current US$
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa 5.84 current US$
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa and Nigeria 5.72 current US$
- Africa 5.37 current US$
- North Africa 2.35 current US$
About this data
Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data. Monthly subscription refers to the recurring fixed charge for subscribing to the PSTN. The charge should cover the rental of the line, but not the rental of the terminal (e.g., telephone set) where the terminal equipment market is liberalized. Separate charges should be stated where appropriate, for first and subsequent lines. If the rental charge includes any allowance for free or reduced rate call units, this should be indicated. If there are different charges for different exchange areas, the largest urban area should be used and specified in a note. This indicator is expressed in US dollars.