New Zealand's fixed telephone subscriptions was 564,000 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 69.51% from 1.85 million in 2014 (11.2% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 564,000 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 967,000 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.85 million | 2014 |
| Highest | 1.88 million | 2010 |
| Lowest | 537,035 | 1960 |
| Average since 2015 | 1.12 million | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 537,035 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, New Zealand's fixed telephone subscriptions fell 14.9% on 2023 (from 663,000 to 564,000).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −2.4% and a typical year strayed about 9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below 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 33.1% in 1965 and the biggest yearly fall was 40.1% 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 151,703 a year. A straight line explains 87% 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 60,538 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 17,924, against 246,333 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, New Zealand had the 69th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 564,000 | 2024 |
| World | 815 million | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 288 million | 2025 |
| High income | 398 million | 2025 |
Closest to New Zealand in the 2024 ranking
- Costa Rica — 66th of 146: 610,457
- Slovenia — 67th of 146: 607,443
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 68th of 146: 583,045
- Myanmar — 70th of 146: 558,671
- Bulgaria — 71st of 146: 551,943
- Qatar — 72nd of 146: 524,643
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 65 values
| Year | Fixed telephone subscriptions |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 564,000 |
| 2023 | 663,000 |
| 2022 | 758,000 |
| 2021 | 908,000 |
| 2020 | 844,000 |
| 2019 | 967,000 |
| 2018 | 1,073,000 |
| 2017 | 1,790,000 |
| 2016 | 1,760,000 |
| 2015 | 1,850,000 |
| 2014 |
Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies
- American Samoa — 9,693 (2022)
- Australia — 5.95 million (2024)
- Brunei Darussalam — 128,276 (2024)
- Cambodia — 29,080 (2024)
- China — 166.51 million (2024)
- Fiji — 77,765 (2024)
- French Polynesia — 65,969 (2023)
- Guam — 71,308 (2022)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.31 million (2024)
- Indonesia — 4.65 million (2024)
- Japan — 59.33 million (2023)
More infrastructure data for New Zealand
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 10.82 (2024)
- Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 178,457 (2023)
- Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 767.76 (2023)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 15.03 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 6.78 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 130.09 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents — 5,684 (2024)
- Patent applications, residents — 278 (2024)
- Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 17.88% (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is New Zealand's fixed telephone subscriptions?
- 564,000 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 5.02% from 537,035 in 1960 (0.08% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.88 million in 2010 and the lowest 537,035 in 1960.
- How does New Zealand rank?
- 69th highest of 146 economies with data for 2024.
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.
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