Mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income

Upper middle income: Mobile cellular subscriptions was 3.76 billion in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3.76 billion
Change on year
up 2.2%
All-time high
3.76 billion
in 2025
All-time low
0
in 1960
Years of data
39
1960–2025

Mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income, 1960–2025

01.0B2.0B3.0B4.0B1960199220251960: 01965: 01970: 01975: 01976: 01977: 01978: 01979: 01980: 01981: 01982: 01983: 01984: 1.8k1985: 2.0k1986: 16.5k1987: 35.4k1988: 68.4k1989: 132.5k1990: 308.3k1991: 595.5k1992: 1.2M1993: 2.3M1994: 5.1M1995: 10.2M1996: 18.0M1997: 32.9M1998: 53.9M1999: 98.0M2015: 2.9B2016: 3.0B2017: 3.1B2018: 3.2B2019: 3.4B2020: 3.4B2021: 3.5B2022: 3.5B2023: 3.6B2024: 3.7B2025: 3.8B

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

Analysis

In 2025, mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income stood at 3.76 billion. That is the highest value across all 39 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 31.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income peaked at 3.76 billion in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1960.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 0 0 0 2
1970s 0 0 0 6
1980s 25,665 0 132,474 10
1990s 22.25 million 308,269 97.98 million 10
2010s 3.12 billion 2.86 billion 3.38 billion 5
2020s 3.55 billion 3.35 billion 3.76 billion 6

More infrastructure data for Upper middle income

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Frequently asked questions

What is mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income?
Mobile cellular subscriptions in Upper middle income was 3.76 billion in 2025, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What is the highest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in Upper middle income?
The highest recorded value was 3.76 billion in 2025.
What is the lowest mobile cellular subscriptions recorded in Upper middle income?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1960.
Is mobile cellular subscriptions rising or falling in Upper middle income?
Over the last ten years it is up 31.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Upper middle income 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.

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CSV · JSON — 39 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.