Mobile telephone ownership rate
Information
Full name
People who own a mobile telephone
Short name
Mobile telephone ownership rate
Code
TelephoneMobileOwnership
Definition
The proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone. An individual owns a mobile cellular phone if the individual has a mobile cellular phone device with at least one active SIM card for personal use.
This data series includes mobile phones supplied by employers that can be used for personal reasons and mobile phones for personal use that are not registered under the respondent name. It excludes people who have only active SIM cards and no mobile phone device. An active SIM card is one used in the last 3 months.
Source: United Nations Statistics Division. (2024). Metadata for Sustainable Development Goal indicator 5.b.1: Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-05-0B-01.pdf (Accessed 29 July 2026).
Rationale
This data series measures individual ownership of a mobile telephone. It identifies mobile phone ownership as an important measure of gender equality because a personally owned, rather than shared, device can provide women with greater independence and autonomy, including in their professional lives. In forced displacement contexts, individual mobile phone ownership can also facilitate access to timely information, services and livelihood opportunities, while enabling people to maintain contact with family members and support networks. The series can help identify inequalities in access to personal communication technology among refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless people, including gender disparities. Its interpretation should be based on individual ownership rather than household ownership or shared access.
Method of computation
Numerator: number of in-scope individuals who own a mobile telephone.
Denominator: total number of in-scope individuals with valid information.
Calculation: divide the numerator by the denominator and multiply the result by 100.
Comparability
International definition and standards
Relationships
| Framework | Indicator | Comparability |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainible Development Goals Indicators | Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex | Comparable |
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Limitations
The series measures individual ownership of a mobile telephone, not household access, mobile network coverage, affordability, quality of service or frequency of use.
Quality assurance
Quality assurance follows the practices of the standardised survey series or data source from which the data is collected.
Data sources
Original sources are national household surveys submitted by national statistical offices to the International Telecommunication Union. UNHCR survey data may be used where the question captures individual ownership of a mobile phone device with an active SIM card for personal use and the population universe is documented.
Rwanda: Population and Housing Census - 2022
GOVT_RWA_2022_CENSUS
2022
Rwanda
Census or national survey
Gov't. of Rwanda
Cameroon: Forced Displacement Survey - 2024
UNHCR_CMR_2024_FDS
2024
Cameroon
Probability survey
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Gov't. of Cameroon
Report is forthcoming.
Pakistan: Forced displacement survey (FDS) - 2024
UNHCR_PAK_2024_FDS
2025
Pakistan
Probability survey
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Panama: Census - 2023
GOVT_PAN_2023_CENSUS
2023
Panama
Census or national survey
Gov't. of Panama
Zambia: Forced Displacement Survey - 2025
UNHCR_ZMB_2025_FDS
2025
Probability survey
The strata on others of concern (OOC) are former refugeesfrom Angola and Rwanda who have lost their refugee protections, however, remain in Zambia and are at risk of statelessness.