Least developed countries: UN classification: Fixed telephone subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Least developed countries: UN classification's fixed telephone subscriptions did not change 0% on 2024 (from 6 million to 6 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +5% and a typical year strayed about 11.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 38.5% in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 25% in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 291,057 a year. A straight line explains 55% 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.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 sum.

All 56 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 181,963 (2023)
• Algeria — 6.93 million (2024)
• Bahrain — 256,054 (2024)
• Djibouti — 28,673 (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 13.25 million (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 28.23 million (2024)
• Iraq — 5.28 million (2024)
• Israel — 2.56 million (2023)
• Jordan — 485,928 (2024)
• Kuwait — 572,621 (2023)
• Lebanon — 924,461 (2022)

More infrastructure data for Least developed countries: UN classification

• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.5 (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 571,662 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 45.05 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.05 billion (2025)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 86.3 (2025)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 4,485 (2023)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 25,411 (2023)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

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 Least developed countries: UN classification's fixed telephone subscriptions?

6 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 1,773% from 320,351 in 1970 (5.47% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 8.71 million in 2014 and the lowest 320,351 in 1970.

Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions unusual for Least developed countries: UN classification?

In 2025, Least developed countries: UN classification's fixed telephone subscriptions did not change 0% on 2024 (from 6 million to 6 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +5% and a typical year strayed about 11.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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.MLT.MAIN, 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.