A new report from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the global body for telecoms operators and professionals, indicated that governments globally generated more than $810bn in tax revenues from the global mobile industry in 2025.
The just released “The Mobile Economy 2026” report by the association reflected the sector’s growing contributions as a driver of digital connectivity and public finance systems of the various countries.
The report, which broadly appraised the economic, employment and fiscal impact of mobile technologies across global markets, indicated that the tax revenue of about $810bn generated from the sector by the governments in 2025, accounted for about 3.5 per cent of total global tax revenues.
According to the GSMA, the tax derived from employment taxes, corporate taxes, spectrum fees, sales taxes and social security payments linked to mobile operators and companies across the broader digital value chain.
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The association clarified: “In 2025, the mobile sector made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with more than $800bn raised through taxes on the sector. The largest contribution was from employment taxes and social security ($270bn). The fiscal contribution of the mobile ecosystem represented 3.5 per cent of the total tax revenue.”
The report reflected that employment-related taxes and social security contributions formed the largest share of the sector’s fiscal impact, generating approximately $270bn for governments.
The association further disclosed that globally, total tax revenues reached $23tn in 2025, representing a 2.3 per cent increase from the previous year’s collections and that high-income countries accounted for the largest share, contributing about $17tn, equivalent to 23 per cent of their combined gross domestic product, while low- and middle-income countries generated nearly $6tn, or around 14 per cent of GDP.
It maintained that the mobile sector made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector as telecommunications infrastructure and digital services had become integrated into modern economic activity.
Apart from tax payments, the GSMA disclosed that mobile technologies were increasingly aiding governments globally to enhance tax administration and compliance across their various economies.
For instance, it reported that digital payments enabled through mobile platforms had been expanding formal economic participation and improving transparency in financial transactions, making it easier for authorities to track taxable activities.
Similarly, the association noted that governments were also deploying mobile applications that allow individuals and small businesses to file and pay taxes electronically, reducing administrative barriers.
It maintained that high compliance costs had discouraged individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from entering formal tax systems, especially in developing countries, adding that . mobile-based tax systems are helping reduce friction and improve compliance rates.
The association reported that fiscal impact formed part of a broader economic contribution from the mobile industry, which continues to expand alongside rapid adoption of digital technologies such as fifth-generation networks, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IOT).
By its estimation, it projected that mobile technologies would contribute $11.3tn to the global economy by 2030, representing 8.4 per cent of global GDP, facilitated primarily by productivity gains and improved efficiency enabled by digital connectivity.
The GSMA further clarified that mobile’s economic contribution was expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent between 2026 and 2030, outpacing projected global GDP growth of 2.6 per cent over the same period.
Beyond the fiscal contributions, the report revealed that the global mobile ecosystem supported approximately 50 million jobs in 2025, with mobile operators directly employing around 31 million people while economic activity generated by the sector supported an additional 19 million jobs across related industries globally.
