Indicator 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Target 5.b: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women

Indicator 5.b.1: Proportion of households with cellular telephones

Definition:

This indicator measures the proportion of households with cellular telephones.

Concepts:

An individual owns a mobile cellular phone if he/she has a mobile cellular phone device with at least one active SIM card for personal use. Mobile cellular phones supplied by employers that can be used for personal reasons (to make personal calls, access the Internet, etc.) are included. Individuals who have only active SIM card(s) and not a mobile phone device are excluded. Individuals who have a mobile phone for personal use that is not registered under his/her name are also included. An active SIM card is a SIM card that has been used in the last three months.

A mobile (cellular) telephone refers to a portable telephone subscribing to a public mobile telephone service using cellular technology, which provides access to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). This includes analogue and digital cellular systems and technologies such as IMT-2000 (3G) and IMT-Advanced. Users of both postpaid subscriptions and prepaid accounts are included.

This is a proxy indicator. The UN Global indicator states: “Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex”. This indicator measures the proportion of households with cellular telephones rather than the proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone as specified by the metadata.

Starting with the 2017 reference year, the Survey of Household Spending is conducted every two years.

Data were readily available to report on this indicator as specified by the metadata. Please refer to the sources to access additional information on the metadata or source.