South Sudan: Mobile cellular subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, South Sudan's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 0.2% on 2022 (from 5.34 million to 5.35 million).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +11.8% and a typical year strayed about 25% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 63.1% in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 31.3% 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 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 275,118 a year. A straight line explains 49% of the movement over 9 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 2023, South Sudan had the 13th 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 South Sudan in the 2023 ranking

• Kuwait — 10th of 23: 8.11 million
• Tajikistan — 11th of 23: 7.92 million
• Panama — 12th of 23: 6.98 million
• Lao PDR — 14th of 23: 4.96 million
• West Bank and Gaza — 15th of 23: 4.15 million
• Luxembourg — 16th of 23: 960,900

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 13 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions in nearby economies

• Angola — 26.41 million (2024)
• Benin — 18.21 million (2024)
• Botswana — 4.13 million (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 27.46 million (2024)
• Burundi — 8.65 million (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 587,026 (2024)
• Cameroon — 31.52 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — 1.98 million (2022)
• Chad — 14.8 million (2024)
• Comoros — 934,198 (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 63.96 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for South Sudan

• Scientific and technical journal articles — 17.18 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 46.62 (2023)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions — 200 (2023)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.00174 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 0 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$35.64 million (2023)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 7.36% (2023)
• Secure Internet servers — 63 (2024)
• Secure Internet servers (per 1 million people)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is South Sudan's mobile cellular subscriptions?

5.35 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 256.87% from 1.5 million in 2010 (10.28% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.35 million in 2023 and the lowest 1.5 million in 2010.

How does South Sudan rank?

13th highest of 23 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in mobile cellular subscriptions unusual for South Sudan?

In 2023, South Sudan's mobile cellular subscriptions rose 0.2% on 2022 (from 5.34 million to 5.35 million). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +11.8% and a typical year strayed about 25% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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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