Gibraltar: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Gibraltar's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 2,559 on 2021 (from 34,149 to 36,708).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2021), the average change was +1,030 and a typical year strayed about 1,792 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above 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 4,239 in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 5,099 in 2020. 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 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 648.97 a year. A straight line explains 40% of the movement over 9 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, Gibraltar had the 29th highest value of the 33 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 Gibraltar in the 2022 ranking

• Faroe Islands — 26th of 33: 57,146
• Dominica — 27th of 33: 56,929
• San Marino — 28th of 33: 41,000
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 30th of 33: 22,410
• Marshall Islands — 31st of 33: 15,913
• Naoero — 32nd of 33: 10,287

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 50 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions in nearby economies

• Albania — 2.49 million (2024)
• Andorra — 127,571 (2024)
• Armenia — 4.01 million (2024)
• Austria — 11.35 million (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 11.32 million (2024)
• Belarus — 11.88 million (2024)
• Belgium — 12.2 million (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3.84 million (2024)
• Bulgaria — 7.98 million (2024)
• Croatia — 4.72 million (2024)
• Cyprus — 1.51 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Gibraltar

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 17,155 (2022)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 45.61 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 97.6 (2022)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 94.44% (2016)
• Liner shipping connectivity index (maximum value in 2004 = 100) — 2.52 (2021)
• Secure Internet servers — 322 (2024)
• Secure Internet servers (per 1 million people) — 8,187 (2024)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions — 22,932 (2022)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) — 60.97 (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Gibraltar's mobile cellular subscriptions?

36,708 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How does Gibraltar rank?

29th highest of 33 economies with data for 2022.

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

In 2022, Gibraltar's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 2,559 on 2021 (from 34,149 to 36,708). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2021), the average change was +1,030 and a typical year strayed about 1,792 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

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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