Tonga: Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Tonga's mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) rose 0.75 on 2021 (from 60.98 to 61.73).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +2.03 and a typical year strayed about 10.44 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 26.64 in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 43.47 in 2019. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2022, Tonga had the 27th highest value of the 33 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 Tonga in the 2022 ranking

• Haiti — 23rd of 33: 65.19
• Samoa — 24th of 33: 62.4
• Solomon Islands — 25th of 33: 62.07
• Eritrea — 27th of 33: 59.12
• Equatorial Guinea — 28th of 33: 49.54
• Marshall Islands — 29th of 33: 39.71

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 weighted average.

All 51 values

Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) in nearby economies

• Australia — 112.58 (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 118.13 (2024)
• Cambodia — 116.09 (2024)
• China — 131.75 (2024)
• Fiji — 574.15 (2024)
• French Polynesia — 118.78 (2023)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 364.85 (2024)
• Indonesia — 122.52 (2024)
• Japan — 178.43 (2023)
• Kiribati — 53.52 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Tonga

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 3,280 (2022)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 3.12 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 64,838 (2022)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 85.31% (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 67.44% (2024)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 4.85 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$767,593 (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 0.72% (2025)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions — 8,586 (2022)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 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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Questions people ask

What is Tonga's mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)?

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

How does Tonga rank?

27th highest of 33 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) unusual for Tonga?

In 2022, Tonga's mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) rose 0.75 on 2021 (from 60.98 to 61.73). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +2.03 and a typical year strayed about 10.44 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IT.CEL.SETS.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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