Unmet demand (% of waiting list to number main fixed telephone lines in operation) by country
Unmet demand is unmet applications for connection to the public switched telephone network that have had to be held over owing to a lack of technical facilities (equipment, lines, and the like) divided by the number of main telephone lines in operation.
What the numbers show
Unmet demand (% of waiting list to number main fixed telephone lines in operation) is currently reported for 51 countries. The highest value is 289.1% in Mauritania; the lowest is 0.0% in Algeria.
The median across all reporting countries is 4.7%, and the mean is 21.5%.
Over the past decade 12 countries rose and 38 fell. The largest increase was in Mali (up 845.1%), and the largest decrease in Sudan (down 100.0%).
Unmet demand (% of waiting list to number main fixed telephone lines): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauritania | 289.1% | 1999 | up 802.6% | volatile |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 143.6% | 1998 | up 179.5% | rising |
| 3 | Rwanda | 63.2% | 1999 | up 72.8% | rising |
| 4 | Mali | 58.3% | 1989 | up 845.1% | volatile |
| 5 | Cameroon | 53.2% | 1998 | up 207.6% | volatile |
| 6 | Eritrea | 49.5% | 2008 | down 34.6% | falling |
| 7 | Zimbabwe | 47.0% | 2006 | down 23.4% | volatile |
| 8 | Guinea-Bissau | 45.8% | 2000 | up 4.5% | volatile |
| 9 | Libya | 41.1% | 2006 | up 182.5% | falling |
| 10 | Liberia | 36.4% | 1999 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 11 | Angola | 31.5% | 1999 | down 6.6% | volatile |
| 12 | Gambia | 27.7% | 2002 | down 29.8% | volatile |
| 13 | Benin | 27.5% | 2007 | up 0.3% | rising |
| 14 | Malawi | 23.8% | 2002 | down 60.4% | volatile |
| 15 | Comoros | 22.9% | 2008 | down 49.3% | volatile |
| 16 | Uganda | 16.0% | 1999 | down 81.3% | volatile |
| 17 | Central African Republic | 13.3% | 2002 | up 67.8% | falling |
| 18 | Zambia | 12.5% | 2004 | down 86.1% | volatile |
| 19 | Niger | 10.5% | 1995 | down 26.2% | falling |
| 20 | Botswana | 10.0% | 2001 | down 63.4% | falling |
| 21 | Seychelles | 9.8% | 2008 | up 6.5% | volatile |
| 22 | Nigeria | 9.6% | 1998 | down 92.2% | volatile |
| 23 | Togo | 9.4% | 2007 | down 81.7% | volatile |
| 24 | Chad | 6.2% | 1999 | up 6.2% | volatile |
| 25 | Guinea | 5.6% | 2001 | down 71.4% | falling |
| 26 | Gabon | 4.7% | 2006 | down 81.7% | volatile |
| 27 | Lesotho | 4.6% | 2005 | down 84.9% | rising |
| 28 | Mozambique | 4.0% | 2006 | down 85.1% | volatile |
| 29 | Congo | 3.6% | 1994 | down 88.1% | volatile |
| 30 | Burkina Faso | 3.6% | 2004 | — | volatile |
| 31 | Namibia | 2.5% | 2005 | down 71.6% | falling |
| 32 | Ethiopia | 2.1% | 2008 | down 98.5% | volatile |
| 33 | South Africa | 1.0% | 2000 | down 73.4% | volatile |
| 34 | Tunisia | 0.9% | 2008 | down 90.4% | volatile |
| 35 | Sao Tome and Principe | 0.9% | 2007 | down 97.2% | volatile |
| 36 | Mauritius | 0.9% | 2007 | down 91.7% | volatile |
| 37 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 0.7% | 2006 | down 99.4% | volatile |
| 38 | Côte d'Ivoire | 0.6% | 2004 | down 97.4% | volatile |
| 39 | Somalia | 0.5% | 2003 | down 99.2% | volatile |
| 40 | Cape Verde | 0.4% | 2008 | down 97.9% | volatile |
| 41 | Morocco | 0.4% | 2000 | down 99.3% | volatile |
| 42 | Kenya | 0.4% | 2008 | down 99.1% | falling |
| 43 | Djibouti | 0.3% | 2003 | down 55.2% | volatile |
| 44 | Egypt | 0.3% | 2008 | down 99.2% | volatile |
| 45 | Ghana | 0.2% | 2008 | down 99.6% | volatile |
| 46 | Eswatini | 0.2% | 2008 | down 99.6% | volatile |
| 47 | Madagascar | 0.1% | 2008 | down 99.7% | volatile |
| 48 | Burundi | 0.1% | 2008 | down 99.9% | volatile |
| 49 | Senegal | 0.0% | 2006 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 50 | Sudan | 0.0% | 2008 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 50 | Algeria | 0.0% | 2007 | down 100.0% | falling |
About this data
Unmet demand is unmet applications for connection to the public switched telephone network that have had to be held over owing to a lack of technical facilities (equipment, lines, and the like) divided by the number of main telephone lines in operation.