Barbados: Fixed telephone subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Barbados' fixed telephone subscriptions rose 0.3% on 2021 (from 120,980 to 121,314).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +1.6% and a typical year strayed about 5.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 73% in 1970 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.8% in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2,942 a year. A straight line explains 66% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2022, Barbados had the 11th highest value of the 45 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Barbados in the 2022 ranking

• Papua New Guinea — 8th of 45: 172,691
• Sudan — 9th of 45: 155,802
• Guyana — 10th of 45: 123,604
• Virgin Islands (US) — 12th of 45: 75,836
• Guam — 13th of 45: 71,308
• Eritrea — 14th of 45: 68,216

What this measures

Fixed telephone subscriptions refers to the sum of active number of analogue fixed telephone lines, voice-over-IP (VoIP) subscriptions, fixed wireless local loop (WLL) subscriptions, ISDN voice-channel equivalents and fixed public payphones.

Limitations: Operators have traditionally been the main source of telecommunications data, so information on subscriptions has been widely available for most countries. This gives a general idea of access, but a more precise measure is the penetration rate - the share of households with access to telecommunications. During the past few years more information on information and communication technology use has become available from household and business surveys. Also important are data on actual use of telecommunications services. Ideally, statistics on telecommunications (and other information and communications technologies) should be compiled for all three measures: subscriptions, access, and use.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 63 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 27,320 (2022)
• Argentina — 6.42 million (2024)
• Aruba — 34,549 (2022)
• Bahamas, The — 93,084 (2024)
• Belize — 17,806 (2022)
• Bolivia — 368,926 (2024)
• Brazil — 22.55 million (2024)
• British Virgin Islands — 24,443 (2024)
• Cayman Islands — 35,773 (2022)
• Chile — 1.74 million (2024)
• Colombia — 6.32 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Barbados

• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 42.97 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 323,482 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 114.58 (2022)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$3.44 million (2017)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 0.23% (2017)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 25.88% (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 70.36% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 56.79 (2023)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 12 (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Barbados's fixed telephone subscriptions?

121,314 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 1,650% from 6,933 in 1960 (4.72% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 149,532 in 2015 and the lowest 6,933 in 1960.

How does Barbados rank?

11th highest of 45 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions unusual for Barbados?

In 2022, Barbados' fixed telephone subscriptions rose 0.3% on 2021 (from 120,980 to 121,314). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +1.6% and a typical year strayed about 5.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IT.MLT.MAIN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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