Iceland: Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Iceland's fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) fell 3.87 on 2023 (from 21.28 to 17.42).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.1 and a typical year strayed about 2.82 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 6.45 in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.14 in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 3.72 a year. A straight line explains 97% 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 6.5 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.61, against 5.91 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 2024, Iceland had the 47th highest value of the 146 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 Iceland in the 2024 ranking

• Trinidad and Tobago — 43rd of 146: 19.75
• Suriname — 44th of 146: 19.56
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 45th of 146: 18.43
• Uzbekistan — 47th of 146: 17.39
• Qatar — 48th of 146: 17.21
• Estonia — 49th of 146: 16.72

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 weighted average.

All 65 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) in nearby economies

• Albania — 5.92 (2024)
• Andorra — 64.95 (2024)
• Armenia — 10 (2024)
• Austria — 38.17 (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 12.82 (2024)
• Belarus — 45.76 (2024)
• Belgium — 21.18 (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 18.43 (2024)
• Bulgaria — 8.17 (2024)
• Croatia — 28.46 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Iceland

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 68,518 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 37,800 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 191.91 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 4.34 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 475,724 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 120.93 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 38 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 5 (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 98.21% (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports)

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 Iceland's fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)?

17.42 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 7.34% from 18.8 in 1960 (0.12% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 69.8 in 2000 and the lowest 17.42 in 2024.

How does Iceland rank?

47th highest of 146 economies with data for 2024.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IT.MLT.MAIN.P2, 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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