Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Uganda
Uganda: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 43.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
43.3%
Change on year
down 30.2%
World rank
181st
of 182 countries
All-time high
65.0%
in 2021
All-time low
43.3%
in 2024
Years of data
6
2019–2024
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Uganda, 2019–2024
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 Uganda is 43.3%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 30.2% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
That places Uganda 181st out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 60.8% | — |
| 2020 | 63.4% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 65.0% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 65.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 62.0% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 43.3% | -30.2% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 43.3% is below the median for low income countries, which is 53.8%, 81% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 43.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 69.1%, 63% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 60.8% | 60.8% | 60.8% | 1 |
| 2020s | 59.7% | 43.3% | 65.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 178 Zambia 47.4% compare
- 179 Madagascar 44.4% compare
- 180 Democratic Republic of Congo 44.3% compare
- 182 Burundi 27.8% compare
More science & technology data for Uganda
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 83.17 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.8317 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 41.60 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 185.14 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 12.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 1,424 (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 Uganda?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Uganda was 43.3% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 65.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.3% in 2024.
- How does Uganda rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Uganda ranks 181st out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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 — 6 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 (%).