Mali: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Mali's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 1.53 million on 2021 (from 24.33 million to 25.87 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +811,163 and a typical year strayed about 1.63 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 5.14 million in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.48 million in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 497,033 a year. A straight line explains 57% 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

In 2022, Mali had the 2nd 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 Mali in the 2022 ranking

• Sudan — 1st of 33: 34.67 million
• Libya — 3rd of 33: 13.94 million
• Sierra Leone — 4th of 33: 8.93 million
• Haiti — 5th of 33: 7.5 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

• Angola — 26.41 million (2024)
• Benin — 18.21 million (2024)
• Botswana — 4.13 million (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 27.46 million (2024)
• Burundi — 8.65 million (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 587,026 (2024)
• Cameroon — 31.52 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — 1.98 million (2022)
• Chad — 14.8 million (2024)
• Comoros — 934,198 (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 63.96 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Mali

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 306,900 (2022)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 1.33 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 112.12 (2022)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 36.8% (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$172.16 million (2024)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 33.34% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 116.65 (2023)
• ICT goods imports (% total goods imports) — 2.01% (2023)
• ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports) — 0.09% (2023)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Mali's mobile cellular subscriptions?

25.87 million in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How does Mali rank?

2nd highest of 33 economies with data for 2022.

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

In 2022, Mali's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 1.53 million on 2021 (from 24.33 million to 25.87 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +811,163 and a typical year strayed about 1.63 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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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