Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America

North America: Fixed telephone subscriptions was 89.00 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
89.00 million
Change on year
down 4.3%
All-time high
213.41 million
in 2000
All-time low
54.27 million
in 1961
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America, 1960–2025

50.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M196019922025

Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Analysis

North America recorded 89.00 million for fixed telephone subscriptions in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.3% on the previous year and down 36.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in North America peaked at 213.41 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 54.27 million, in 1961.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 58.92 million 54.27 million 63.57 million 10
1970s 85.11 million 75.57 million 100.88 million 10
1980s 126.69 million 104.28 million 146.19 million 10
1990s 176.54 million 151.45 million 209.94 million 10
2000s 194.66 million 171.64 million 213.41 million 10
2010s 143.33 million 120.10 million 168.10 million 10
2020s 100.67 million 89.00 million 115.00 million 6

More infrastructure data for North America

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is fixed telephone subscriptions in North America?
Fixed telephone subscriptions in North America was 89.00 million in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?
The highest recorded value was 213.41 million in 2000.
What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in North America?
The lowest recorded value was 54.27 million in 1961.
Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in North America?
Over the last ten years it is down 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this North America data come from?
The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Fixed telephone subscriptions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Fixed telephone subscriptions
Source
World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
260 places, 14,482 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

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.