What share of people worldwide (age 10+) own a mobile phone?
Answer82%
Ownership is over 95% in high-income economies but only 53% in low-income economies.
Source: International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025 (2025) itu.int
Tech · Facts & sources
Telecom facts & stats
6 sourced facts about telecommunications, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
The basics
What share of U.S. international data capacity is carried by satellites?
Answerjust 0.37%
Almost all international data travels through fiber-optic submarine cables, which carry far more data at a fraction of satellites' cost.
Source: TeleGeography, Submarine Cable FAQs (citing FCC data) www2.telegeography.com
Going deeper
What share of the world's population was covered by a 5G network in 2025?
Answer55%
5G only began commercial rollout in 2019; Europe leads with 74% of its population covered.
Source: International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025 (2025) itu.int
About how many active and planned submarine cables are tracked worldwide?
Answermore than 600
The number keeps changing as new cables enter service and older ones are decommissioned.
Source: TeleGeography, Submarine Cable FAQs www2.telegeography.com
Expert level
What is the global average monthly mobile broadband data use per subscription?
Answer15.3 GB
Averages range from 2.2 GB in low-income countries to 17.9 GB in high-income ones; mobile traffic has grown about 19% a year since 2021.
Source: International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025 (2025) itu.int
Globally, what share of women (age 10+) own a mobile phone, versus 87% of men?
Answer78%
Women are 10% less likely than men to own a mobile phone, an improvement from 12% in 2022.
Source: International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025 (2025) itu.int
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