Zimbabwe's fixed telephone subscriptions was 298,047 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 9.54% from 329,475 in 2014 (1% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 298,047 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 265,734 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 329,475 | 2014 |
| Highest | 385,116 | 2009 |
| Lowest | 55,000 | 1960 |
| Average since 2015 | 283,266 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 55,000 | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Zimbabwe's fixed telephone subscriptions fell 3.7% on 2023 (from 309,645 to 298,047).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +3.3% and a typical year strayed about 8.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 21% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 15.3% in 2012. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 2% 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 2024, Zimbabwe had the 83rd 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | 298,047 | 2024 |
| World | 815 million | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 5 million | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 94 million | 2025 |
Closest to Zimbabwe in the 2024 ranking
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 65 values
| Year | Fixed telephone subscriptions |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 298,047 |
| 2023 | 309,645 |
| 2022 | 291,324 |
| 2021 | 243,421 |
| 2020 | 252,067 |
| 2019 | 265,734 |
| 2018 | 268,849 |
| 2017 | 264,150 |
| 2016 | 305,720 |
| 2015 | 333,702 |
| 2014 |
Fixed telephone subscriptions in nearby economies
- Angola — 80,267 (2024)
- Benin — 1,350 (2024)
- Botswana — 83,182 (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 81,718 (2024)
- Burundi — 14,363 (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 61,294 (2024)
- Cameroon — 67,507 (2024)
- Central African Republic — 2,088 (2022)
- Chad — 0 (2024)
- Comoros — 8,823 (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0 (2024)
More infrastructure data for Zimbabwe
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 1.79 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 15.68 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 94.25 (2024)
- Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 3.78 (2023)
- Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 2,085 (2023)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 92,494 (2023)
- Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 15.14% (2024)
- Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 41.64% (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles — 519.85 (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zimbabwe's fixed telephone subscriptions?
- 298,047 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 441.9% from 55,000 in 1960 (2.68% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 385,116 in 2009 and the lowest 55,000 in 1960.
- How does Zimbabwe rank?
- 83rd highest of 146 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in fixed telephone subscriptions unusual for Zimbabwe?
- In 2024, Zimbabwe's fixed telephone subscriptions fell 3.7% on 2023 (from 309,645 to 298,047). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +3.3% and a typical year strayed about 8.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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.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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