Palau: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

Since 2002 it is up 876.4% from 2,458 in 2002 (11.46% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 3 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2023, Palau's mobile cellular subscriptions did not change 0% on 2022 (from 24,000 to 24,000).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2022), the average change was +16.6% and a typical year strayed about 19.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 59.6% in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Palau had the 23rd highest value of the 23 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 Palau in the 2023 ranking

• Vanuatu — 20th of 23: 286,107
• Curaçao — 21st of 23: 173,926
• St. Kitts and Nevis — 22nd of 23: 55,592

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 19 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 Palau

• Scientific and technical journal articles — 5.04 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$164,000 (2023)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 0.26% (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 135.39 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 45.1 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 6,154 (2022)
• Liner shipping connectivity index (maximum value in 2004 = 100) — 2.46 (2021)
• Secure Internet servers — 26 (2024)
• Secure Internet servers (per 1 million people) — 1,469 (2024)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions

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 Palau's mobile cellular subscriptions?

24,000 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is up 876.4% from 2,458 in 2002 (11.46% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 24,000 in 2019 and the lowest 2,458 in 2002.

How does Palau rank?

23rd highest of 23 economies with data for 2023.

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

In 2023, Palau's mobile cellular subscriptions did not change 0% on 2022 (from 24,000 to 24,000). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2022), the average change was +16.6% and a typical year strayed about 19.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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.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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