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Cell Phones by Country 2024

The cell phone, also known as a cellular phone or mobile phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls. Modern mobile phones use cellular network architecture and, therefore, are called cellular phones or cell phones. In addition to making and receiving phone calls, cell phones can perform a variety of other services such as email, SMS texts, Internet access, photography, video recording, and Bluetooth connectivity, among others.

The mobile phone can be traced back to 1917 when Eric Tigerstedt, a Finnish inventor, filed a patent for a “pocket-size folding telephone with a very thin carbon microphone.” Analog radio communications from ships and trains are examples of early predecessors of cellular phones. Mobile phones became accessible and affordable thanks to the development of metal-oxide-semiconductor large-scale integration technology, information theory, and cellular networking.

The first handheld mobile phone, a handset weighing almost four and a half pounds, was demonstrated in 1973 by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola. In 1979, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone launched the first cellular network in the world in Japan. DyanTAC 8000x was the first commercially available mobile phone, introduced in 1983.

The first true smartphone made its appearance in the world in 1992 when the Simon Personal Communicator was created by IBM. Smartphones comprise about 78% of total mobile phone sales. Modern smartphones have endless capabilities such as video calls, GPS navigation, advanced cameras, and a variety of other functions thanks to the availability of countless applications that can be downloaded directly to the user’s device. Between the release of the DyanTAC 8000x in 1983 and 2014, mobile phone subscriptions grew to over 7 billion worldwide, enough to supply every person on Earth with a cell phone. As of Q1 of 2020, the best-selling phones in the United States are Samsung, Huawei, and Apple.

Cell Phones by Country

In general, the number of cell phone users per country is relatively proportional to that country’s population compared to other countries. Some people have multiple cell phone lines for various reasons, including one for personal use and one for business use. The following countries have the highest number of cell phone users:

Country
Total Users
China1.6B
India1.3B
Indonesia385.6M
United States327.6M
Brazil284.2M
Russia256.1M
Nigeria167.4M
Bangladesh165.6M
Pakistan165.4M
Japan146.6M

The following countries have the highest number of cell phone lines per 100 citizens:

Country
Lines per 100
Hong Kong256.70
Maldives245.92
United Arab Emirates203.70
Panama202.50
Montenegro180.23
Sri Lanka179.30
Finland172.60
Saudi Arabia169.50
Lithuania167.10
Indonesia162.28
Note: Data is for 2019 production statistics.

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Country
Cell Phones in Use
Total Users
Lines per 100
Hong Kong23.9M19.2M256.70
Maldives706K776.7K245.92
United Arab Emirates18M17.1M203.70
Panama6M6.9M202.50
Montenegro1.1M1.1M180.23
Sri Lanka30.8M38.8M179.30
Finland7.2M9.5M172.60
Saudi Arabia48.2M46M169.50
Lithuania3.7M4.9M167.10
Indonesia365.9M385.6M162.28
Russia250M256.1M155.50
Trinidad and Tobago2M2.1M151.60
Estonia2M1.9M150.50
Singapore9.4M8.1M150.10
Italy78.1M88.6M147.40
Sweden12.8M14.5M146.40
Bulgaria7.9M10.5M145.20
Malaysia47.2M30.4M143.80
Argentina59.1M56.7M141.34
Brazil219.7M284.2M141.30
Nepal38M34.2M134.41
Morocco52M44.5M131
Germany106.4M107M130.10
Iran135.9M96.2M130
Latvia2.2M2.6M129.80
United Kingdom80M83.1M129.60
Denmark7.3M7M127.50
Portugal12.5M13.4M126.87
Azerbaijan10.8M7M126.20
Ukraine56M57.5M126
Ireland5.4M5.8M125.90
Poland50.6M47.2M123.48
Romania22.9M26M123.45
Taiwan30M28.6M123.33
Chile26.6M21M122.90
Israel12.5M9.7M122.80
Malta645K554.7K122.57
Netherlands21.9M20M121.10
Guatemala22.1M17.6M119.40
Colombia75M57.9M118.90
Spain56.8M55.7M118
South Africa100.3M59.5M117.60
Mongolia4.7M3.5M117.40
Hungary10.2M11.6M116.70
Japan200.5M146.6M115.20
France73M72.2M114.20
China1.7B1.6B114.17
Philippines163.3M107M113.80
Belgium11.7M11.8M113.60
South Korea72.9M56M111.50
Ecuador16.8M15.9M111.18
New Zealand5.8M4.8M111.10
Peru43.1M34.2M109.80
Venezuela17M32M106.15
Thailand120M69M105
Zimbabwe14.3M13.5M103.50
United States360M327.6M103.10
Jordan7.3M6M101
Bangladesh181M165.6M98.18
Egypt103.4M95.3M95.38
Nigeria195.1M167.4M94.50
Algeria47M33M94.20
India1.1B1.3B93.10
Turkey86M72.2M92.50
Mexico123.9M101.3M90.20
Australia27.1M20.6M87.60
Canada32.7M31.2M84.60
Pakistan188.7M165.4M79.61
Vietnam140M72.3M79
Kenya65.1M28.1M71.30
Lebanon4.3M2.7M64.40
Ethiopia65M18M21.80
North Korea6M3M12.30
Cuba7.1M1.3M11.60
DR Congo47M
Tanzania54M
Myanmar67.9M
Uganda30M
Sudan16.7M
Iraq37.6M
Afghanistan23M
Angola15.3M
Uzbekistan35M
Yemen15M
Mozambique13.7M
Ghana40.5M
Madagascar16.3M
Ivory Coast44.6M
Cameroon22.4M
Niger14M
Syria17M
Mali21.9M
Burkina Faso24.7M
Malawi11.9M
Zambia20M
Kazakhstan24.3M
Chad10M
Somalia8.8M
Senegal20.9M
Cambodia19.9M
Guinea13.8M
Rwanda10.9M
Benin12.7M
Burundi7.7M
Bolivia12M
Tunisia16M
Haiti7.3M
Dominican Republic9.7M
South Sudan3.3M
Honduras7.6M
Papua New Guinea4.8M
Czech Republic13.1M
Tajikistan12M
Greece11.5M
Belarus11.8M
Togo6.3M
Sierra Leone8.2M
Austria10.9M
Switzerland11.1M
Laos4.8M
Nicaragua6.2M
Serbia8.6M
Libya2.9M
Paraguay8M
Kyrgyzstan8.5M
Turkmenistan6.3M
El Salvador11.1M
Republic of the Congo5.6M
Central African Republic1.8M
Slovakia7.4M
Liberia1.7M
Norway5.8M
Palestine4.4M
Costa Rica7.8M
Mauritania6.5M
Oman6.1M
Kuwait6.9M
Croatia4.4M
Eritrea1.8M
Georgia5.2M
Uruguay4.7M
Moldova3.9M
Puerto Rico3.7M
Bosnia and Herzegovina3.7M
Gambia27M
Albania2.6M
Jamaica2.9M
Armenia3.6M
Qatar3.9M
Botswana4.2M
Namibia2.9M
Gabon3.1M
Lesotho1.8M
Guinea Bissau2.2M
Slovenia2.6M
North Macedonia1.9M
Equatorial Guinea650K
Bahrain1.9M
Timor Leste1.4M
Mauritius2M
Cyprus1.3M
Eswatini1.4M
Djibouti489.3K
Reunion1.1M
Fiji990K
Comoros853.4K
Guyana860K
Bhutan778K
Solomon Islands470K
Macau2.8M
Luxembourg880K
Suriname906.2K
Cape Verde590.2K
Brunei603.5K
Belize260K
Bahamas466K
Guadeloupe670.2K
Iceland437.3K
Martinique571.8K
Mayotte351K
Vanuatu250K
French Guiana319.4K
French Polynesia322.9K
New Caledonia260K
Barbados316.6K
Sao Tome and Principe197.3K
Samoa134.3K
Curacao170K
Saint Lucia170K
Guam98K
Kiribati54.5K
Grenada100K
Micronesia22K
Tonga64K
Seychelles205.1K
Aruba140K
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines114.9K
United States Virgin Islands80K
Antigua and Barbuda180K
Isle of Man133.7K
Andorra89K
Dominica62K
Cayman Islands100K
Bermuda68K
Greenland66.6K
Faroe Islands59K
Northern Mariana Islands20.5K
Saint Kitts and Nevis57K
Turks and Caicos Islands25.1K
Sint Maarten68.8K
American Samoa2.3K
Marshall Islands16K
Liechtenstein49.3K
Monaco36.3K
San Marino41K
Gibraltar34K
Saint Martin68.8K
Palau24K
Cook Islands17K
Anguilla26K
Nauru10K
Tuvalu9K
Saint Barthelemy4.6K
Saint Pierre and Miquelon6.2K
Montserrat5K
Falkland Islands6K
Niue1.6K
Tokelau1K
showing: 228 rows

Which country has the most cell phones?

The country with the most cell phones is China. They have approximately 1.7B cell phones in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources