Rank Country Telephones - main lines in use Date of Information
1 United States 194,000,000 1997
2 China 135,000,000 2000
3 Japan 60,381,000 1997
4 Germany 50,900,000 March 2001
5 United Kingdom 34,878,000 1997
6 France 34,860,000 yearend 1998
7 Russia 30,000,000 1998
8 India 27,700,000 October 2000
9 Italy 25,000,000 1999
10 Korea, South 24,000,000 2000
11 Canada 20,802,900 1999
12 Turkey 19,500,000 1999
13 Spain 17,336,000 1999
14 Brazil 17,039,000 1997
15 Taiwan 12,490,000 September 2000
16 Mexico 12,332,000 2000
17 Australia 10,050,000 2000
18 Ukraine 9,450,000 April 1999
19 Netherlands 9,132,400 1999
20 Poland 8,070,000 1998
21 Argentina 7,500,000 1998
22 Philippines 6,980,000 2001
23 Iran 6,313,000 1997
24 Sweden 6,017,000 December 1998
25 Thailand 5,600,000 2000
26 Indonesia 5,588,310 1998
27 Colombia 5,433,565 December 1997
28 Greece 5,431,000 1997
29 Portugal 5,300,000 yearend 1998
30 South Africa 5,000,000 2001
31 Switzerland 4,820,000 1998
32 Denmark 4,785,000 1997
33 Belgium 4,769,000 1997
34 Malaysia 4,600,000 2000
35 Austria 4,000,000 2001
36 Egypt 3,971,500 December 1998
37 Saudi Arabia 3,900,000 2002 est.
38 Czech Republic 3,869,000 2000
39 Hong Kong 3,839,000 1999
40 Romania 3,777,000 1997
41 Bulgaria 3,186,731 2001
42 Hungary 3,095,000 1997
43 Pakistan 2,861,000
44 Finland 2,847,900 2001
45 Israel 2,800,000 1999
46 Norway 2,735,000 1998
47 Chile 2,603,000 1998
48 Venezuela 2,600,000 1998
49 Vietnam 2,600,000 2000
50 Belarus 2,313,000 1997
51 Algeria 2,300,000 1998
52 Serbia and Montenegro 2,017,000 1995
53 Uzbekistan 1,980,000 1999
54 Singapore 1,950,000 2000
55 Slovakia 1,934,558 1998
56 Kazakhstan 1,920,000 2001
57 New Zealand 1,920,000 2000
58 Peru 1,800,000 2000
59 Croatia 1,721,139 2000
60 Ireland 1,600,000 2002
61 Morocco 1,391,000 1998
62 Puerto Rico 1,322,000 1997
63 Syria 1,313,000 1997
64 Lithuania 1,142,000 2001
65 Ecuador 1,115,272 1999
66 Korea, North 1,100,000 1997
67 Uruguay 929,141 2001
68 United Arab Emirates 915,223 1998
69 Azerbaijan 865,000 2002
70 Latvia 734,693 2000
71 Slovenia 722,000 1997
72 Dominican Republic 709,000 1997
73 Lebanon 700,000 1999
74 Iraq 675,000
75 Guatemala 665,061 June 2000
76 Tunisia 654,000 1997
77 Moldova 627,000 1997
78 Georgia 620,000 1997
79 Armenia 600,000 2002
80 Rwanda 600,000 2002
81 Estonia 501,691 2000
82 Bangladesh 500,000 2000
83 Libya 500,000 1998
84 Nigeria 500,000 2000 est.
85 Sri Lanka 494,509 1998
86 Cuba 473,031 2000
87 Costa Rica 450,000
88 Kuwait 412,000 1997
89 Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 408,000 1997
90 Cyprus 405,000
91 Jordan 403,000 1997
92 Sudan 400,000 2000
93 Panama 396,000 1997
94 El Salvador 380,000 1998
95 Tajikistan 363,000 1997
96 Turkmenistan 363,000 1997
97 Jamaica 353,000 1996
98 Kyrgyzstan 351,000 1997
99 Bolivia 327,600 1996
100 Luxembourg 314,700 1999
101 Kenya 310,000 2001
102 Bosnia and Herzegovina 303,000 1997
103 Yemen 291,359 1999
104 Paraguay 290,475 2001
105 Mauritius 280,900 2000
106 Reunion 268,500 1999
107 Cote d'Ivoire 263,700 2000
108 Trinidad and Tobago 252,000 1999
109 Burma 250,000 2000
110 Ghana 240,000 2001
111 Nepal 236,816 January 2000
112 Senegal 234,916 2001
113 Honduras 234,000 1997
114 Ethiopia 231,900 2000
115 Zimbabwe 212,000 1997
116 Oman 201,000 1997
117 Iceland 196,984 2001
118 Malta 187,000 1997
119 Macau 176,902 November 2001
120 Guadeloupe 171,000 1996
121 Martinique 170,000 1997
122 Bahrain 152,000 1997
123 Qatar 142,000 1997
124 Nicaragua 140,000 1996
125 Botswana 131,000 September 2001
126 Zambia 130,000 2002
127 Tanzania 127,000 1998
128 Albania 120,000 2001
129 Namibia 110,200 2000
130 Barbados 108,000 1997
131 Mongolia 104,100 1999
132 Bahamas, The 96,000 1997
133 Gaza Strip 95,729 1997
134 West Bank 95,729 1997
135 Cameroon 95,000 2001
136 Mozambique 90,000 2001
137 Guam 84,134 1998
138 Cyprus 83,162
139 Fiji 80,901 1999
140 Brunei 79,000 1996
141 Netherlands Antilles 76,000 1995
142 Angola 72,000 1998
143 Guyana 70,000 2000
144 Jersey 65,500 1997
145 Virgin Islands 65,000 1997
146 Suriname 64,000 1997
147 Papua New Guinea 61,152 1999
148 Cape Verde 60,935 2002
149 Haiti 60,000 1997
150 Madagascar 55,000 2000
151 Burkina Faso 53,200 2000
152 Bermuda 52,000 1997
153 French Polynesia 52,000 1997
154 Benin 51,000 2000
155 Man, Isle of 51,000 1999
156 French Guiana 47,000 1997
157 New Caledonia 47,000 1997
158 Malawi 45,000 2000
159 Mali 45,000 2000
160 Guernsey 44,000 1996
161 Gabon 39,000 1998
162 Swaziland 38,500 2001
163 Guinea 37,000 1998
164 Saint Lucia 37,000 1997
165 Aruba 33,000 1997
166 Andorra 32,946 December 1998
167 Gambia, The 31,900 2000
168 Monaco 31,027 1995
169 Belize 31,000 1997
170 Eritrea 30,000 2001
171 Afghanistan 29,000
172 Antigua and Barbuda 28,000 1996
173 Grenada 27,000 1997
174 Mauritania 26,500 2001
175 Greenland 25,617 yearend 1999
176 Laos 25,000 1997
177 Sierra Leone 25,000 2001
178 Togo 25,000 1997
179 Faroe Islands 24,851 1999
180 Lesotho 22,200 2000
181 Congo, Republic of the 22,000 1998
182 Cambodia 21,800 mid-1998
183 Northern Mariana Islands 21,000 1996
184 Maldives 21,000 1999
185 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 20,500 1998
186 Liechtenstein 20,072 2000
187 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 20,000 2000
188 Niger 20,000 2001
189 Seychelles 19,635 1997
190 Cayman Islands 19,000 1995
191 Dominica 19,000 1996
192 Gibraltar 19,000 1997
193 Burundi 18,000 2002
194 San Marino 18,000 1998
195 Saint Kitts and Nevis 17,000 1997
196 Somalia 15,000 2000
197 American Samoa 13,000 1997
198 Mayotte 12,000 1998
199 Micronesia, Federated States of 11,000 2001
200 Djibouti 10,000 2002
201 British Virgin Islands 10,000 1996
202 Guinea-Bissau 10,000 2001
203 Chad 9,700 1999
204 Central African Republic 9,500 2000
205 Samoa 8,183 1998
206 Solomon Islands 8,000 1997
207 Tonga 8,000 1996
208 Comoros 7,000 2000
209 Liberia 6,700 2000
210 Palau 6,700 2002
211 Bhutan 6,000 1997
212 Equatorial Guinea 6,000 1998
213 Vanuatu 5,500 1998
214 Cook Islands 5,000 1997
215 Anguilla 4,974 2000
216 Sao Tome and Principe 4,600 2000
217 Marshall Islands 4,186 2001
218 Montserrat 4,000 1997
219 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 4,000 1997
220 Kiribati 3,800 1999
221 Turks and Caicos Islands 3,000 1994
222 Nauru 2,000 1996
223 Saint Helena 2,000 1997
224 Wallis and Futuna 1,125 1994
225 Norfolk Island 1,087 1983
226 Tuvalu 1,000 1997
227 Niue 376 1991
228 Cocos (Keeling) Islands 287 1992
229 Pitcairn Islands 1 1997
230 Antarctica 0 2001