Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has reported that 98.9% of households in the country now use mobile phones, reflecting the deep penetration of mobile technology across both rural and urban areas. The data comes from the first-quarter report of the 2025–26 ICT Use and Application Survey, conducted between July and September 2025, covering over 61,000 households nationwide.
According to the survey, 72.4% of households use smartphones, a slight decline from 72.8% in the previous fiscal year. Individual mobile phone usage, however, rose to 80.6% from 78.9% last year. Internet usage also increased modestly, reaching 48.9% of the population. Gender disparities persist: 80.9% of men and 78.8% of women use mobile phones, but ownership rates remain lower among women (52.8%) than men (63.2%).
Urban households show higher smartphone adoption (80.8%) compared to rural ones (68.8%). BBS noted that such data will help policymakers assess progress toward Sustainable Development Goals and design targeted ICT development programs.