The global telecommunications industry contributed more than $810 billion in tax revenue to governments worldwide in 2025, highlighting its growing importance to economic growth, digital transformation and public sector funding.
According to the GSMA Mobile Economy 2026 Report, the mobile ecosystem — including network operators, infrastructure providers, equipment manufacturers and digital service companies — accounted for about 3.5% of total global tax revenue generated last year.
The report revealed that employment taxes and social security contributions made up the largest share of the industry’s tax payments, contributing approximately $270 billion to government coffers worldwide.
Beyond direct tax payments, GSMA noted that mobile technology is helping governments improve tax collection through digital payment systems, mobile wallets and electronic tax platforms that make filing and payment easier for businesses and individuals.
The report added that digital solutions are reducing compliance costs, improving efficiency and encouraging greater tax participation, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Beyond taxation, the mobile sector continued to play a major role in the global economy. According to the report, mobile technologies and services generated $7.6 trillion in economic value in 2025, representing 6.4% of global GDP.
The industry also directly employed 31 million people and supported another 19 million jobs across various sectors, bringing the total number of jobs sustained by the mobile ecosystem to about 50 million worldwide.
Looking ahead, GSMA projects that the sector’s contribution to the global economy could rise to $11.3 trillion by 2030, driven by the expansion of 5G technology, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging digital innovations.
Source: GSMA Mobile Economy 2026 Report
