Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 95.9% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
95.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
45th
of 182 countries
All-time high
96.0%
in 2022
All-time low
92.2%
in 2019
Years of data
6
2019–2024
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in United Kingdom, 2019–2024
Source: International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 95.9% for share of the population that owns a mobile phone in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.0% over ten years.
That places United Kingdom 45th out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 92.2% | — |
| 2020 | 92.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 94.7% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 96.0% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 95.9% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 95.9% | +0.0% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 95.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 97.0%, 99% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 95.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 96.0%, 100% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 92.2% | 92.2% | 92.2% | 1 |
| 2020s | 94.9% | 92.2% | 96.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More science & technology data for United Kingdom
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 121.64 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.21 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 84.10 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 348.57 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate -0.9277 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -0.2704 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 97,536 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0014 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population that owns a mobile phone in United Kingdom?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in United Kingdom was 95.9% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 96.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 92.2% in 2019.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- United Kingdom ranks 45th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.
Download this data
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 (%).