Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 98.3% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia, 2015–2024
Source: International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia is 98.3%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia peaked at 98.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 94.5%, in 2015.
That places Malaysia 20th out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 94.5% | — |
| 2017 | 95.5% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 96.0% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 95.7% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 96.4% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 97.4% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 98.2% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 98.4% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 98.3% | -0.1% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 98.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 86.9%, 1.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 98.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 84.8%, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 95.4% | 94.5% | 96.0% | 4 |
| 2020s | 97.7% | 96.4% | 98.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More science & technology data for Malaysia
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 139.66 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.4 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 49.66 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 152.6 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate -2.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -0.9474 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 23,691 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0007 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malaysia was 98.3% in 2024, according to International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 98.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 94.5% in 2015.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Malaysia ranks 20th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population that owns a mobile phone. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (%).