Virgin Islands (US): Fixed telephone subscriptions

Key figures

Since 1981 it is up 161.5% from 29,000 in 1981 (2.37% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 5 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2022, Virgin Islands (US)'s fixed telephone subscriptions fell 0.2% on 2021 (from 76,000 to 75,836).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1985 to 2021), the average change was +2.4% and a typical year strayed about 2.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 24.3% in 1984 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.2% in 1995. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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, Virgin Islands (US) had the 12th highest value of the 45 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 Virgin Islands (US) in the 2022 ranking

• Sudan — 9th of 45: 155,802
• Guyana — 10th of 45: 123,604
• Barbados — 11th of 45: 121,314
• Guam — 13th of 45: 71,308
• Eritrea — 14th of 45: 68,216
• New Caledonia — 15th of 45: 46,570

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 37 values

Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 27,320 (2022)
• Argentina — 6.42 million (2024)
• Aruba — 34,549 (2022)
• Bahamas, The — 93,084 (2024)
• Barbados — 121,314 (2022)
• Belize — 17,806 (2022)
• Bolivia — 368,926 (2024)
• Brazil — 22.55 million (2024)
• British Virgin Islands — 24,443 (2024)
• Cayman Islands — 35,773 (2022)
• Chile — 1.74 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Virgin Islands (US)

• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 87.66 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 79,121 (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 91.46 (2022)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 64.38% (2017)
• Liner shipping connectivity index (maximum value in 2004 = 100) — 5.23 (2021)
• Secure Internet servers — 586 (2024)
• Secure Internet servers (per 1 million people) — 5,614 (2024)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions — 8,708 (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
• 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 Virgin Islands (US)'s fixed telephone subscriptions?

75,836 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is up 161.5% from 29,000 in 1981 (2.37% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 76,100 in 2014 and the lowest 29,000 in 1981.

How does Virgin Islands (US) rank?

12th highest of 45 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions unusual for Virgin Islands (US)?

In 2022, Virgin Islands (US)'s fixed telephone subscriptions fell 0.2% on 2021 (from 76,000 to 75,836). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1985 to 2021), the average change was +2.4% and a typical year strayed about 2.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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