The line chart illustrates the number of telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants in Africa from 1994 to 2004, presented in two categories: fixed and mobile lines.
Overall, what is the most striking is that there was an increase being observed in both categories, most notably in mobile phones. Additionally, although this kind of phone remained far less common than fixed telephones for over half of the period, it then maintained its leading from 2001 onwards and continued to widen the gap.
Regarding fixed-line telephones, only 1.7 of subscribers per 100 residents in Africa initially used fixed phones, followed by a consistent but gentle rise to record higher just above 2 in 1997. This figure then increased rapidly, reaching 2.5 per 100 in 1999, after which it made up approximately 3 in 2001. Despite a slight decline to 2.9 per 100 in the following year, there was a modest recovery being shown in terms of this data, which rose to a peak of 3.1 per 100 by the end of the period, almost doubling the original level.
Moving to mobile phones, the subscription was inconsiderable (at 0.06 per 100) at first and this figure retained its consistent growth pace to hit 1 by 1999. From 2000 onwards, mobile penetration rose sharply, surging twofold from 1 in 1999 to 2 in 2000, surpassing the figure for fixed lines at 3 per 100 in 2001. This sector then expanded at a remarkable pace over the following years, rising to around 4.8 per 100 in 2002 and reaching 8.8 per 100 by 2004, at a level three times higher than that of fixed numbers.