Burundi: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Burundi's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 1.15 million on 2022 (from 7.49 million to 8.65 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +249,815 and a typical year strayed about 408,533 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.8 million in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 246,046 in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 489,801 a year. A straight line explains 92% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 10.36 million for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 438,835, against 1.33 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2023, Burundi had the 10th highest value of the 23 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 Burundi in the 2023 ranking

• Guinea — 6th of 23: 14.1 million
• Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 7th of 23: 9.91 million
• Paraguay — 8th of 23: 8.67 million
• Kuwait — 10th of 23: 8.11 million
• Tajikistan — 11th of 23: 7.92 million
• Panama — 12th of 23: 6.98 million

What this measures

Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions are subscriptions to a public mobile telephone service that provide access to the PSTN using cellular technology. The indicator includes (and is split into) the number of postpaid subscriptions, and the number of active prepaid accounts (i.e. that have been used during the last three months). The indicator applies to all mobile cellular subscriptions that offer voice communications. It excludes subscriptions via data cards or USB modems, subscriptions to public mobile data services, private trunked mobile radio, telepoint, radio paging and telemetry services.

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 52 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions in nearby economies

• Angola — 26.41 million (2024)
• Benin — 18.21 million (2024)
• Botswana — 4.13 million (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 27.46 million (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 587,026 (2024)
• Cameroon — 31.52 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — 1.98 million (2022)
• Chad — 14.8 million (2024)
• Comoros — 934,198 (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 63.96 million (2024)
• Congo, Rep.

More infrastructure data for Burundi

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 14,363 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.1 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 63.16 (2023)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 8.6% (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 15.68% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 36.26 (2023)
• ICT goods imports (% total goods imports) — 1.84% (2023)
• ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports) — 0.05% (2023)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 1 (2023)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions

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 Burundi's mobile cellular subscriptions?

8.65 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How does Burundi rank?

10th highest of 23 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in mobile cellular subscriptions unusual for Burundi?

In 2023, Burundi's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 1.15 million on 2022 (from 7.49 million to 8.65 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +249,815 and a typical year strayed about 408,533 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IT.CEL.SETS, 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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