What is fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.4 per 100 people in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?

The highest recorded value was 1.56 per 100 people in 2009.

What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.4 per 100 people in 2024.

Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?

The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Name: Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa
Creator: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Sub-Saharan Africa: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 0.4 per 100 people in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.4 per 100 people

Change on year

unchanged

All-time high

1.56 per 100 people

in 2009

All-time low

0.4 per 100 people

in 2024

Years of data

1960–2025

Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–2025

Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Measured in per 100 people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa is 0.4 per 100 people, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 60.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 1.56 per 100 people in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.4 per 100 people, in 2024.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.5099 per 100 people	0.4984 per 100 people	0.5219 per 100 people	9
1970s	0.6388 per 100 people	0.5063 per 100 people	0.8183 per 100 people	10
1980s	0.8216 per 100 people	0.7045 per 100 people	0.9452 per 100 people	10
1990s	1.13 per 100 people	0.9897 per 100 people	1.42 per 100 people	10
2000s	1.48 per 100 people	1.38 per 100 people	1.56 per 100 people	10
2010s	1.09 per 100 people	0.7 per 100 people	1.46 per 100 people	10
2020s	0.5167 per 100 people	0.4 per 100 people	0.7 per 100 people	6

More infrastructure data for Sub-Saharan Africa

Fixed telephone subscriptions 5.00 million (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions 90.4 per 100 people (2025)
Mobile cellular subscriptions 1.20 billion (2025)
Air transport, passengers carried 56.96 million (2023)
Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide 717,259 (2023)
Air transport, freight 4,829 million ton-km (2023)
Renewable internal freshwater resources, total 3,884 billion cubic meters (2022)
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita 3,162 cubic meters (2022)
Individuals using the Internet 35.7% (2025)
Annual freshwater withdrawals, domestic 13.9% (2022)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.4 per 100 people in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The highest recorded value was 1.56 per 100 people in 2009.
What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.4 per 100 people in 2024.
Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?: The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people)
Unit: per 100 people
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 260 places, 14,528 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

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.