Mobile cellular subscriptions in United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates: Mobile cellular subscriptions was 22.41 million in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
22.41 million
Change on year
up 5.6%
World rank
62nd
of 213 countries
All-time high
22.41 million
in 2024
All-time low
2,330
in 1982
Years of data
43
1982–2024

Mobile cellular subscriptions in United Arab Emirates, 1982–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1982200320241982: 2.3k1983: 3.6k1984: 4.9k1985: 7.9k1986: 11.2k1987: 13.7k1988: 13.8k1989: 24.9k1990: 33.6k1991: 43.0k1992: 48.9k1993: 70.6k1994: 91.5k1995: 129.0k1996: 193.8k1997: 309.4k1998: 493.3k1999: 832.3k2000: 1.4M2001: 1.9M2002: 2.4M2003: 3.0M2004: 3.7M2005: 4.5M2006: 5.5M2007: 7.7M2008: 9.4M2009: 10.7M2010: 10.9M2011: 11.7M2012: 13.8M2013: 16.1M2014: 16.8M2015: 17.9M2016: 19.9M2017: 19.8M2018: 20.1M2019: 19.6M2020: 18.4M2021: 18.2M2022: 20.0M2023: 21.2M2024: 22.4M

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

Analysis

United Arab Emirates recorded 22.41 million for mobile cellular subscriptions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.6% on the previous year and up 33.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, mobile cellular subscriptions in United Arab Emirates peaked at 22.41 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2,330, in 1982.

That places United Arab Emirates 62nd out of 213 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 10,303 2,330 24,946 8
1990s 224,530 33,578 832,267 10
2000s 5.02 million 1.43 million 10.67 million 10
2010s 16.67 million 10.93 million 20.08 million 10
2020s 20.06 million 18.24 million 22.41 million 5

Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates

  1. 59 Zambia 23.17 million compare
  2. 60 Senegal 22.92 million compare
  3. 61 Romania 22.78 million compare
  4. 63 Guatemala 20.71 million compare
  5. 64 Cambodia 20.48 million compare
  6. 65 Venezuela 20.17 million compare

See the full ranking of 260 places →

More infrastructure data for United Arab Emirates

All data for United Arab Emirates →

Frequently asked questions

What is mobile cellular subscriptions in United Arab Emirates?
Mobile cellular subscriptions in United Arab Emirates was 22.41 million in 2024, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The highest recorded value was 22.41 million in 2024.
What is the lowest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The lowest recorded value was 2,330 in 1982.
How does United Arab Emirates rank for mobile cellular subscriptions?
United Arab Emirates ranks 62nd out of 213 countries with data for 2024.
Is mobile cellular subscriptions rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published as part of Mobile cellular subscriptions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Mobile cellular subscriptions
Source
World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
260 places, 13,039 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions are subscriptions to a public mobile telephone service that provide access to the PSTN using cellular technology. The indicator includes (and is split into) the number of postpaid subscriptions, and the number of active prepaid accounts (i.e. that have been used during the last three months). The indicator applies to all mobile cellular subscriptions that offer voice communications. It excludes subscriptions via data cards or USB modems, subscriptions to public mobile data services, private trunked mobile radio, telepoint, radio paging and telemetry services.