North Macedonia: Fixed telephone subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, North Macedonia's fixed telephone subscriptions rose 1.8% on 2023 (from 448,139 to 456,183).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.2% and a typical year strayed about 4.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 11% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 8% in 2006. 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 11,082 a year. A straight line explains 96% 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 2024, North Macedonia had the 77th 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.

Closest to North Macedonia in the 2024 ranking

• Jordan — 74th of 146: 485,928
• Mauritius — 75th of 146: 468,800
• Honduras — 76th of 146: 459,820
• Slovak Republic — 78th of 146: 454,876
• Jamaica — 79th of 146: 453,882
• Oman — 80th of 146: 435,596

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 42 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies

• Albania — 165,380 (2024)
• Andorra — 53,215 (2024)
• Armenia — 297,328 (2024)
• Austria — 3.48 million (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 1.33 million (2024)
• Belarus — 4.14 million (2024)
• Belgium — 2.49 million (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 583,045 (2024)
• Bulgaria — 551,943 (2024)
• Croatia — 1.1 million (2024)
• Cyprus — 245,464 (2024)

More infrastructure data for North Macedonia

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.98 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 108.39 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 25.02 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 63.97% (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 93.1% (2025)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$764.41 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 21.52% (2025)
• Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.37% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles

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 North Macedonia's fixed telephone subscriptions?

456,183 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1983?

It is up 117.23% from 210,000 in 1983 (1.91% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 560,026 in 2002 and the lowest 210,000 in 1983.

How does North Macedonia rank?

77th highest of 146 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions unusual for North Macedonia?

In 2024, North Macedonia's fixed telephone subscriptions rose 1.8% on 2023 (from 448,139 to 456,183). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.2% and a typical year strayed about 4.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.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.