COMCEC Transport and Communications
Outlook 2017
53
Figure 30: Internet users (per 100 people) (1990-2014)
Source: World Bank
6.2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE OICMEMBER COUNTRIES
OIC member countries usually have lower telephone and internet penetration rates and tend to
stay in the disadvantaged side of digital divide. On the other hand, there are significant
differences among OIC countries in terms of penetrations. While there are some OIC countries
with rates close to or even above high income countries, others have only a negligible level of
telephone and internet penetration. Detailed telecommunication statistics for OIC countries can
be seen in Table A.3 in the Appendix.
As Table 18 indicates, Iran is the leading OIC country in terms of fixed-telephone penetration
with 38.27 percent and followed by Kazakhstan and UAE.
Table 18: Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) in top 5 OIC countries
Country Fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
Developed Countries 38.50
Iran 38.27
Kazakhstan 24.70
UAE 23.06
Bahrain 20.52
Lebanon 19.19
World Average 14.30
Developing Countries 9.30
OIC Average 7.68
Source: International Telecommunication Union Statistics, 2015
As seen in Table 19, several OIC countries have much higher mobile cellular penetration rates
compared to developed countries’ average. Kuwait and Maldives followed by UAE, Kazakhstan
and Bahrain are the OIC countries with the highest mobile cellular penetration rates.
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