Vanuatu: Fixed telephone subscriptions

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Vanuatu's fixed telephone subscriptions fell 4% on 2023 (from 3,163 to 3,036).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.2% and a typical year strayed about 11.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 102% in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 30.6% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 198.97 a year. A straight line explains 96% 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 2,139 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 186.05, against 432 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 2024, Vanuatu had the 139th highest value of the 146 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 Vanuatu in the 2024 ranking

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 136th of 146: 9,077
• Lesotho — 137th of 146: 7,980
• Malawi — 138th of 146: 4,869
• São Tomé and Principe — 140th of 146: 1,781
• Timor-Leste — 141st of 146: 1,691
• Benin — 142nd of 146: 1,350

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 52 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 9,693 (2022)
• Australia — 5.95 million (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 128,276 (2024)
• Cambodia — 29,080 (2024)
• China — 166.51 million (2024)
• Fiji — 77,765 (2024)
• French Polynesia — 65,969 (2023)
• Guam — 71,308 (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.31 million (2024)
• Indonesia — 4.65 million (2024)
• Japan — 59.33 million (2023)

More infrastructure data for Vanuatu

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 286,107 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 89.29 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.93 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 8,307 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 359,290 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 30.27 (2023)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 11.87 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$6.45 million (2022)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 8.22% (2022)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

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 Vanuatu's fixed telephone subscriptions?

3,036 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 507.2% from 500 in 1970 (3.4% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 10,400 in 2008 and the lowest 500 in 1970.

How does Vanuatu rank?

139th highest of 146 economies with data for 2024.

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.

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