The Caribbean is no stranger to cellular technology with most people using their cell phones on a regular basis. According to 2015 statistics from The World Bank which was retrieved from the International Telecommunication Union, Caribbean islands are among the top nations in the Western hemisphere with high Mobile cellular subscriptions to a public mobile telephone service that provides access to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) using cellular technology. During this analysis postpaid and active prepaid accounts were analyzed. According to the report only prepaid accounts that were used within the last three months were included. This indicator only applies to subscriptions that offers voice communication.
So how is this measured? The score measures the number of mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Hence a value of 150 indicates that for every 100 persons, there are 150 cell phones in the nation.
So which nation topped the list? Macau SAR, China with 324 mobile subscriptions per 100 people.
Here is a list of the top 10 mobile subscriptions among Caribbean small states in ascending order:
St. Lucia
St. Lucia was ranked 10th with 102 mobile subscriptions per 100 people
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
St. Vincent is slightly higher than St. Lucia with 104 mobile subscriptions per 100 people
Dominica
Dominica follows the trend with 2 points higher than SVG with 106 subscribers per 100 people
Jamaica
Jamaica ties with Grenada for 112 subscriptions per 100 people
Grenada
Like Jamaica, Grenada has 112 subscriptions per 100 people
Barbados
Barbados has 116 subscribers per 100 people
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Kitts & Nevis broke the 2 - 6 point difference trend with a score of 132 subscribers per 100 people
Suriname
Another tie, Suriname has 137 subscribers per 100 people
Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua & Barbuda ties with Suriname with 137 subscribers per 100 people
Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad & Tobago tops the list with 158 subscribers per 100 people
Without a doubt the Caribbean small states has a high usage of mobile technology, with the top 4 nations surpassing the United Kingdom (124 subscribers per 100 people) and the United States (118 subscribers per 100 people). With the high usage of mobile technology in the region there are lots of opportunities for the tech industry in the Caribbean.