Number of radio amateurs in the world

🌍 Overview of amateur radio worldwide

Amateur radio is a technical hobby practised in almost every country in the world, with the notable exception of Yemen and North Korea, which do not allow it. The worldwide community of radio amateurs forms a unique network of telecommunications enthusiasts spanning every continent.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines the amateur service as a radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by duly authorised amateurs, that is, by persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.

📊 Breakdown by IARU region

According to data from the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), the worldwide amateur radio community is divided into three main regions:

🏆 World ranking of the top 100 countries for radio amateurs

Here is the detailed ranking of the countries with the largest number of licensed radio amateurs, based on official data from national organisations and the IARU. This world ranking of radio amateurs reveals major differences between regions and shows how amateur radio is developing around the world.

🥇 Top 10 countries with the most radio amateurs

📋 Full ranking of radio amateurs (ranks 11 to 50)

📋 Ranking of radio amateurs continued (ranks 51 to 100)

📈 Analysis by region and amateur radio trends in 2024

🇯🇵 Japan: the historical amateur radio leader in decline

Japan remains the country with the largest number of radio amateurs in the world, with nearly 1.3 million licences issued. However, this dominant position hides a worrying reality: the Japanese amateur radio population has fallen by more than 600,000 operators over the past two decades.

🇺🇸 The United States: a worldwide amateur radio success story

The United States is a genuine success story in the world of modern amateur radio. With nearly 780,000 active licences in 2024, the country has reached an all-time record number of radio amateurs. This growth is all the more remarkable as many industrialised countries are seeing a decline.

🇪🇺 Europe: a mixed amateur radio picture

The state of amateur radio in Europe varies greatly from country to country. Some countries are seeing a revival of the amateur radio community, while others continue to lose licensees.

🌏 Asia: explosive growth in China

China is experiencing explosive growth in amateur radio, with more than 174,000 radio amateurs in 2021, whereas the outdated official IARU data recorded only 800. This spectacular growth reflects the rising enthusiasm for amateur radio in the world's most populous country.

South Korea (141,000 licences) and Thailand (141,241 licences) are also major amateur radio strongholds in Asia, with very active and well-organised communities.

🌎 Latin America: dynamic amateur radio communities

Brazil dominates South America with more than 32,000 radio amateurs, followed by Argentina (16,889) and Chile (7,054). These countries maintain dynamic amateur radio communities despite varying economic and regulatory challenges.

🚫 Countries with no radio amateurs or with restrictions

At the other end of the spectrum, some countries have an extremely small number of licensed radio amateurs, or none at all:

Countries such as Tunisia, Vanuatu and Laos have only 2 or 3 licensed radio amateurs, often because of complex bureaucracy or prohibitive fees.

👩 Women radio amateurs (YL) around the world

The amateur radio community is still mostly male, but the number of women is rising steadily. Worldwide, around 15% of radio amateurs are women, known as “YLs” (Young Ladies) in amateur radio jargon.

📊 Development and trends in amateur radio worldwide

📈 Growth factors for amateur radio

⚠️ Challenges facing amateur radio

🎯 Density of radio amateurs relative to population

Ranking by absolute numbers does not necessarily reflect how popular amateur radio is in a country. If you look at the percentage of the population holding an amateur radio licence, the world ranking changes radically:

These countries show that a passion for amateur radio can flourish regardless of the size of the national population. A strong amateur radio community depends above all on favourable cultural, educational and regulatory factors.

🏢 The role of national amateur radio organisations

Each country generally has one or more organisations representing radio amateurs before the national authorities and the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union):

These associations play a crucial role in promoting amateur radio, supporting new operators, defending the frequencies allocated to radio amateurs and representing them before national and international bodies.

🔮 The future of amateur radio worldwide

🚀 Outlook

✅ Conclusion: the state of amateur radio worldwide in 2024

With more than 3.2 million radio amateurs spread across nearly 190 countries, amateur radio remains a lively and dynamic worldwide community. While Japan keeps first place in absolute number of amateur radio licences, the United States shows that sustained growth is still possible in developed countries thanks to a modernised approach to amateur radio.

Europe presents a mixed picture, with situations varying widely from country to country. Some countries such as Spain, Belgium and the Nordic countries are seeing a revival of amateur radio, while others are still struggling to renew their numbers of radio amateurs.

The future of amateur radio will depend on the ability of the worldwide community of radio amateurs to renew itself and embrace new technologies while preserving its core values of experimentation, international mutual support and public service. The 2024 figures show that when the conditions are right (suitable regulations, accessible training, active promotion), amateur radio can continue to attract new enthusiasts in the 21st century.