Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 100.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Saudi Arabia, 2016–2024
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 Saudi Arabia stood at 100.0%. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 62.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Saudi Arabia peaked at 100.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 61.6%, in 2016.
Saudi Arabia ranks 1st of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 61.6% | — |
| 2017 | 94.3% | +53.1% |
| 2018 | 95.1% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 96.9% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 98.2% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 100.0% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 100.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 97.0%, 1.0× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 100.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 92.7%, 1.1× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 87.0% | 61.6% | 96.9% | 4 |
| 2020s | 99.6% | 98.2% | 100.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More science & technology data for Saudi Arabia
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 159.54 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.53 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 54.18 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 24.41 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 1.12 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 3.24 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 24,595 (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 Saudi Arabia?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Saudi Arabia was 100.0% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.6% in 2016.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 1st out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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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CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (%).