What is fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa was 5.00 million 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 13.19 million in 2009.

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

The lowest recorded value was 844,742 in 1960.

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

Over the last ten years it is down 52.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

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. 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 5.00 million in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

5.00 million

Change on year

down 16.7%

All-time high

13.19 million

in 2009

All-time low

844,742

in 1960

Years of data

1960–2025

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

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

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 5.00 million for fixed telephone subscriptions in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 16.7% on the previous year and down 52.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fixed telephone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 13.19 million in 2009 and was at its lowest, 844,742, in 1960.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	947,959	844,742	1.08 million	9
1970s	1.66 million	1.35 million	2.20 million	10
1980s	3.53 million	2.38 million	4.69 million	10
1990s	6.60 million	5.04 million	9.19 million	10
2000s	11.15 million	9.20 million	13.19 million	10
2010s	10.81 million	7.80 million	12.82 million	10
2020s	6.50 million	5.00 million	8.00 million	6

More infrastructure data for Sub-Saharan Africa

Fixed telephone subscriptions 0.4 per 100 people (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 5.00 million 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 13.19 million in 2009.
What is the lowest fixed telephone subscriptions recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 844,742 in 1960.
Is fixed telephone subscriptions rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 52.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
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. 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
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: 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.