Radio Free Asia reports the number of mobile phone subscribers in North Korea has surpassed two million.

Radio Free Asia said Friday that Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Egyptian owned Orascom Telecom that provides mobile telecommunications to the communist state, revealed the figure in an announcement on Wednesday.

When considering that the North’s population stands at around 24 million, one out of 12 North Koreans are estimated to have mobile phones.

In December 2008, Orascom established the North’s first mobile operator, “Koryolink,” after signing a deal that allows the company to offer services throughout the country over a 25-year period.

At the end of September 2009, the number of mobile phone subscribers in the North stood at 100-thousand, then rose to 500-thousand in May 2011 and exceeded one million in February 2012.