Sierra Leone: Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Sierra Leone's fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) fell 0.0000732 on 2021 (from 0.00332 to 0.00325).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.01 and a typical year strayed about 0.07 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 0.06 in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.32 in 2010. 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 downward, about 0.04 a year. A straight line explains 82% 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, Sierra Leone had the 42nd highest value of the 44 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 Sierra Leone in the 2022 ranking

• Liberia — 38th of 44: 0.12
• Central African Republic — 39th of 44: 0.04
• Haiti — 40th of 44: 0.01
• Guinea — 42nd of 44: 0
• Guinea-Bissau — 43rd of 44: 0
• Naoero — 44th of 44: 0

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 weighted average.

All 52 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.21 (2024)
• Benin — 0.00933 (2024)
• Botswana — 3.3 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 0.35 (2024)
• Burundi — 0.1 (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 11.68 (2024)
• Cameroon — 0.23 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 0.04 (2022)
• Chad — 0 (2024)
• Comoros — 1.04 (2023)

More infrastructure data for Sierra Leone

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 269 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 8.93 million (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 107.88 (2022)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 25.11% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 86.32 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$1.57 million (2024)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 3.16% (2024)
• Liner shipping connectivity index (maximum value in 2004 = 100) — 7.34 (2021)
• Secure Internet servers — 98 (2024)

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 Sierra Leone's fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)?

0.00325 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1965?

It is down 96.97% from 0.11 in 1965 (5.95% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 0.54 in 2009 and the lowest 0.00239 in 2020.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

42nd highest of 44 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) unusual for Sierra Leone?

In 2022, Sierra Leone's fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) fell 0.0000732 on 2021 (from 0.00332 to 0.00325). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.01 and a typical year strayed about 0.07 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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.P2, 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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