Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal

Portugal: Adoption of communication technologies was 5.53 million in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
5.53 million
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
25th
of 212 countries
All-time high
5.53 million
in 2024
All-time low
95,697
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal, 1960–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M196019922024

Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Portugal recorded 5.53 million for adoption of communication technologies in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 20.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adoption of communication technologies in Portugal peaked at 5.53 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 95,697, in 1960.

That places Portugal 25th out of 212 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal, year by year

Annual values for Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal, 1960 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1960 95,697
1961 95,697 +0.0%
1962 95,697 +0.0%
1963 95,697 +0.0%
1964 95,697 +0.0%
1965 409,000 +327.4%
1966 409,000 +0.0%
1967 409,000 +0.0%
1968 409,000 +0.0%
1969 409,000 +0.0%
1970 542,000 +32.5%
1971 542,000 +0.0%
1972 542,000 +0.0%
1973 542,000 +0.0%
1974 542,000 +0.0%
1975 778,000 +43.5%
1976 820,602 +5.5%
1977 864,257 +5.3%
1978 904,284 +4.6%
1979 939,599 +3.9%
1980 989,470 +5.3%
1981 1.06 million +6.9%
1982 1.15 million +8.7%
1983 1.25 million +8.7%
1984 1.32 million +6.1%
1985 1.40 million +5.7%
1986 1.51 million +7.9%
1987 1.66 million +9.6%
1988 1.85 million +11.6%
1989 2.19 million +18.4%
1990 2.38 million +8.7%
1991 2.69 million +13.2%
1992 3.01 million +11.9%
1993 3.26 million +8.2%
1994 3.47 million +6.6%
1995 3.64 million +4.8%
1996 3.82 million +4.9%
1997 4.00 million +4.7%
1998 4.12 million +2.9%
1999 4.23 million +2.7%
2000 4.32 million +2.2%
2001 4.39 million +1.5%
2002 4.35 million -0.8%
2003 4.28 million -1.6%
2004 4.24 million -1.0%
2005 4.23 million -0.1%
2006 4.24 million +0.2%
2007 4.20 million -0.9%
2008 4.16 million -1.0%
2009 4.33 million +4.0%
2010 4.49 million +3.6%
2011 4.54 million +1.3%
2012 4.56 million +0.3%
2013 4.53 million -0.6%
2014 4.59 million +1.3%
2015 4.68 million +2.1%
2016 4.79 million +2.2%
2017 4.83 million +0.9%
2018 5.07 million +5.0%
2019 5.09 million +0.3%
2020 5.21 million +2.4%
2021 5.32 million +2.0%
2022 5.44 million +2.2%
2023 5.50 million +1.2%
2024 5.53 million +0.4%

Portugal compared with similar countries

  • Portugal's 5.53 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 445,236, 12.4× the median. (82 countries reporting)
  • Portugal's 5.53 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 734,202, 7.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1965 +327.4% 95,697 409,000
1975 +43.5% 542,000 778,000
1970 +32.5% 409,000 542,000

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 252,348 95,697 409,000 10
1970s 701,674 542,000 939,599 10
1980s 1.44 million 989,470 2.19 million 10
1990s 3.46 million 2.38 million 4.23 million 10
2000s 4.27 million 4.16 million 4.39 million 10
2010s 4.72 million 4.49 million 5.09 million 10
2020s 5.40 million 5.21 million 5.53 million 5

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 22 Uzbekistan 6.32 million compare
  2. 23 Colombia 6.32 million compare
  3. 24 Australia 5.95 million compare
  4. 26 Iraq 5.28 million compare
  5. 27 Greece 4.69 million compare
  6. 28 Indonesia 4.65 million compare

See the full ranking of 212 places →

More reference data data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is adoption of communication technologies in Portugal?
Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal was 5.53 million in 2024, according to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest adoption of communication technologies recorded in Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 5.53 million in 2024.
What is the lowest adoption of communication technologies recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 95,697 in 1960.
How does Portugal rank for adoption of communication technologies?
Portugal ranks 25th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
Is adoption of communication technologies rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Portugal data come from?
The figures come from International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Adoption of communication technologies. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal. Statizoid, drawing on International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/ict-adoption/portugal/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/ict-adoption/portugal/">Adoption of communication technologies in Portugal</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adoption of communication technologies
Source
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
212 places, 11,803 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed