As of 2023, there are 111 mobile-cellular subscriptions and 87 mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. In the past five years, mobile-broadband subscriptions grew by 27 per cent, four times the rate for mobile-cellular subscriptions (7 per cent).
Fixed-broadband subscriptions have grown steadily, at an average rate of 6.7 per cent per year. Fixed-telephone subscriptions continue their steady decline. Since 2005, fixed-telephone penetration has dropped by half, from 20 subscriptions to 11 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
At 8.9 billion, the number of mobile-cellular subscriptions now exceeds the world population. In high-income and upper-middle-income countries, there are about 130 mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, twice the level observed in low-income countries (65 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants). Among the regions, CIS boasts the highest penetration, with nearly three subscriptions for every two people (149 per 100 inhabitants), 1.6 times the penetration rate of Africa (92 per 100 inhabitants).
Regional disparities are just as stark for mobile-broadband penetration: the rate of 116 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in the Americas region is more than twice the rate in Africa (48 per 100 inhabitants).
Penetration rates for fixed subscriptions are much lower than for mobile subscriptions, because fixed connections are usually shared by several people in a household. Nonetheless, the inequalities in access to fixed connections across countries are far higher than for mobile connectivity. Fixed connections are common in high-income countries (39 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants), but are almost non-existent in low-income countries, due to high prices and a lack of infrastructure.