| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 1,183,806 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4.64 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 3,821,857 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14.98 (2019 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: underdeveloped yet growing market dependent on 3G; nationwide fiber-optic network; some mobile-cellular service beyond Pyongyang; remote areas on manual switchboards; though currently under sanction, dependent on foreign investment (primarily Chinese) for equipment and infrastructure; low broadband penetration; international communication restricted and domestic use monitored by state (2021) (2020) domestic: fiber-optic links installed down to the county level; telephone directories unavailable; mobile service launched in late 2008 for the Pyongyang area and considerable progress in expanding to other parts of the country since; fixed-lines are 5 per 100 and mobile-cellular 15 per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Russian - Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments |
| Broadcast media | no independent media; radios and TVs are pre-tuned to government stations; 4 government-owned TV stations; the Korean Workers' Party owns and operates the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and the state-run Voice of Korea operates an external broadcast service; the government prohibits listening to and jams foreign broadcasts (2019) |
| Internet country code | .kp |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
