Russian Federation's fixed telephone subscriptions was 20.82 million in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 48.57% from 40.47 million in 2013 (6.43% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 20.82 million | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 30.11 million | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 40.47 million | 2013 |
| Highest | 45.54 million | 2008 |
| Lowest | 5.9 million | 1975 |
| Average since 2014 | 28.83 million | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 5.9 million |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Russian Federation's fixed telephone subscriptions fell 5.3% on 2022 (from 21.99 million to 20.82 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0% and a typical year strayed about 5.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 18.5% in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.2% 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 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.9 million a year. A straight line explains 99% 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 14.1 million for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 472,746, against 3.67 million 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 2023, Russian Federation had the 3rd highest value of the 20 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Russian Federation | 20.82 million | 2023 |
| World | 815 million | 2025 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 217 million | 2025 |
| High income | 398 million | 2025 |
Closest to Russian Federation in the 2023 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 49 values
| Year | Fixed telephone subscriptions |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 20,816,334 |
| 2022 | 21,987,461 |
| 2021 | 23,864,124 |
| 2020 | 25,892,405 |
| 2019 | 27,674,128 |
| 2018 | 30,108,289 |
| 2017 | 31,952,072 |
| 2016 | 32,276,615 |
| 2015 | 35,553,328 |
| 2014 | 38,212,576 |
| 2013 |
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 Russian Federation
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 269.52 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 186.1 (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 14.31 (2023)
- Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 29.84% (2024)
- Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 94.37% (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents — 5,196 (2024)
- Patent applications, residents — 21,502 (2024)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 98.87 million (2023)
- ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$2.7 billion (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Russian Federation's fixed telephone subscriptions?
- 20.82 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1975?
- It is up 252.82% from 5.9 million in 1975 (2.66% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 45.54 million in 2008 and the lowest 5.9 million in 1975.
- How does Russian Federation rank?
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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