Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 48.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
48.1%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
177th
of 182 countries
All-time high
48.9%
in 2021
All-time low
43.8%
in 2019
Years of data
6
2019–2024
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea, 2019–2024
Source: International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea stood at 48.1%.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.
That places Papua New Guinea 177th out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 43.8% | — |
| 2020 | 47.4% | +8.2% |
| 2021 | 48.9% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 47.6% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 47.9% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 48.1% | +0.4% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 48.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.4%, 64% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 48.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 84.8%, 57% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 43.8% | 43.8% | 43.8% | 1 |
| 2020s | 48.0% | 47.4% | 48.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 174 Rwanda 51.5% compare
- 175 Sierra Leone 50.3% compare
- 176 Afghanistan 48.4% compare
- 178 Zambia 47.4% compare
- 179 Madagascar 44.4% compare
- 180 Democratic Republic of Congo 44.3% compare
More science & technology data for Papua New Guinea
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 38.77 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.3877 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 4.10 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 7.81 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 13.82 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 15.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 69.76 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Papua New Guinea was 48.1% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.8% in 2019.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 177th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 (%).