Korea, Rep.: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Korea, Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions rose 5.33 million on 2023 (from 83.89 million to 89.22 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +2.78 million and a typical year strayed about 1.98 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.42 million in 1999. 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 3.14 million a year. A straight line explains 95% 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 93.28 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 6.55 million, against 10.51 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, Korea, Rep. had the 20th 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 Korea, Rep. in the 2024 ranking

• Germany — 17th of 151: 109.2 million
• Türkiye — 18th of 151: 94.32 million
• Colombia — 19th of 151: 92.07 million
• Tanzania — 21st of 151: 86.77 million
• Ethiopia — 22nd of 151: 85.95 million
• United Kingdom — 23rd of 151: 84.1 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 51 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions in nearby economies

• Australia — 30.07 million (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 546,615 (2024)
• Cambodia — 20.48 million (2024)
• China — 1.87 billion (2024)
• Fiji — 5.33 million (2024)
• French Polynesia — 333,905 (2023)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 27.05 million (2024)
• Indonesia — 347.32 million (2024)
• Japan — 221.92 million (2023)
• Kiribati — 72,000 (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

More infrastructure data for Korea, Rep.

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 21.29 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 41.17 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 459,735 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 12,294 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 76.27 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 172.52 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$18.72 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 12.47% (2025)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 50,459 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents

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 Korea, Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions?

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

How does Korea, Rep. rank?

20th highest of 151 economies with data for 2024.

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

In 2024, Korea, Rep.'s mobile cellular subscriptions rose 5.33 million on 2023 (from 83.89 million to 89.22 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +2.78 million and a typical year strayed about 1.98 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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