Iran, Islamic Rep.: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Iran, Islamic Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions rose 8.72 million on 2023 (from 150.66 million to 159.39 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +5.02 million and a typical year strayed about 6.19 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 29.34 million in 2019. 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 upward, about 10.31 million 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 188.73 million 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 8.08 million, against 16.02 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 2024, Iran, Islamic Rep. had the 11th highest value of the 151 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 Iran, Islamic Rep. in the 2024 ranking

• Pakistan — 7th of 151: 193.11 million
• Bangladesh — 8th of 151: 187.58 million
• Nigeria — 9th of 151: 164.65 million
• Mexico — 11th of 151: 152.44 million
• Philippines — 12th of 151: 133.57 million
• Viet Nam — 13th of 151: 128.87 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 53 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 25.63 million (2024)
• Algeria — 54.05 million (2024)
• Bahrain — 2.56 million (2024)
• Djibouti — 558,607 (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 113.19 million (2024)
• Iraq — 46.08 million (2024)
• Israel — 16.65 million (2024)
• Jordan — 8.05 million (2024)
• Kuwait — 8.11 million (2023)
• Lebanon — 4.25 million (2022)
• Libya — 13.94 million (2022)

More infrastructure data for Iran, Islamic Rep.

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 28.23 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 30.83 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 144,976 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 136.93 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 18.07 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 174.07 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 343 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 8,314 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 35.92% (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 Iran, Islamic Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions?

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

How does Iran, Islamic Rep. rank?

11th highest of 151 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in mobile cellular subscriptions unusual for Iran, Islamic Rep.?

In 2024, Iran, Islamic Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions rose 8.72 million on 2023 (from 150.66 million to 159.39 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +5.02 million and a typical year strayed about 6.19 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above 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.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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.