Contents
- Portable radio sales statistics: Finnish retail volumes, 1980–2003
- Portable radio sales statistics: Finnish prices and sales values, 1994–2003
- Portable radio sales statistics: Canadian domestic portable receiver sales, 1961–1964
- DAB portable radio sales statistics: UK compatibility and sales trends
- portable radio sales: Related DAB radio sales statistics: Austrian home devices and FM-only radios
- Sources
Portable radio sales statistics: Finnish retail volumes, 1980–2003
Finland’s historical retail series records portable-radio sales in thousands of units. The earliest selected observations rise from 35 thousand in 1980 to 50 thousand in 1985 and 75 thousand in 1990. The figures then decline across the next 4 annual entries: 60 thousand in 1991, 45 thousand in 1992, 30 thousand in 1993 and 27 thousand in 1994. These are retail estimates, not a count of every portable radio in use. Source: Finnish Mass Media 2002, Table 3.22
A later edition supplies the overlapping estimates for the end of the period and extends the series to 2003. Its Table 3.23 reports 38.5 thousand units in 1998, 41.0 thousand in 1999, 47.3 thousand in 2000, 52.5 thousand in 2001, 48.3 thousand in 2002 and 42.6 thousand in 2003. The 1998–2001 observations differ from the older edition’s overlapping values. The later edition is used here for those years, consistent with the source note that it revises the overlapping series.
| Year | Finnish portable-radio retail sales (thousand units) |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 35 |
| 1985 | 50 |
| 1990 | 75 |
| 1991 | 60 |
| 1992 | 45 |
| 1993 | 30 |
| 1994 | 27 |
| 1998 | 38.5 |
| 1999 | 41.0 |
| 2000 | 47.3 |
| 2001 | 52.5 |
| 2002 | 48.3 |
| 2003 | 42.6 |
The table presents selected years rather than every annual observation across 1980–2003. Table 3.23 describes the figures as retail sales estimates in thousands of units, based on information from the Domestic Appliances Association, including wholesaler deliveries and foreign-trade statistics. They should be read as a defined retail-market series, not as a direct measure of household ownership or listening. Source: Finnish Mass Media 2002, Table 3.22; Finnish Mass Media 2004, Table 3.23
Finland retail sales of portable radios were 34 thousand units in 1995. Finnish Mass Media 2002
Finland retail sales of portable radios were 34 thousand units in 1997. Finnish Mass Media 2002
Finland retail sales of portable radios were 39 thousand units in 1999. Finnish Mass Media 2002
Finland retail sales of portable radios were 47 thousand units in 2001. Finnish Mass Media 2002
Portable radio sales statistics: Finnish prices and sales values, 1994–2003
The Finnish price table records estimated average prices in euros. It provides one price observation for each year from 1994 through 2003. The average was €38.7 in 1994, €37.0 in 1995, €37.0 in 1996 and €37.0 in 1997. It was €33.6 in 1998, then €40.4 in 1999 and €40.9 in 2000. The subsequent reported prices were €39.8 in 2001, €42.2 in 2002 and €41.0 in 2003. Source: Finnish Mass Media 2004, Table 3.24
| Year | Estimated average portable-radio price (€) |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 38.7 |
| 1995 | 37.0 |
| 1996 | 37.0 |
| 1997 | 37.0 |
| 1998 | 33.6 |
| 1999 | 40.4 |
| 2000 | 40.9 |
| 2001 | 39.8 |
| 2002 | 42.2 |
| 2003 | 41.0 |
These prices are a separate measure from the retail volumes above. They are reported as estimated average prices for portable radios; the source does not identify them as inflation-adjusted values. They also do not establish how much money the category earned in total. No sales value is calculated here by multiplying a price by a volume, because the tables provide separate estimates and the checked observations do not establish that such a calculation would represent a reported sales-value measure. Source: Finnish Mass Media 2004, Tables 3.23–3.24
Portable radio sales statistics: Canadian domestic portable receiver sales, 1961–1964
Canadian government receiver statistics use a different category and scope. A revised monthly bulletin reports producers’ domestic sales excluding imports. Its January 1961 table gives 6,489 portable receivers; the February figure is 5,003, followed by 4,602 in March. These are monthly unit counts, not annual totals or all-source Canadian sales. Source: Radio and Television Receiving Sets, May 1961, Table 11
Annual domestic sales of “Made-in-Canada” radio receiving sets provide another view. The 1962 bulletin records 54,039 portable sets for 1961 and 21,979 for 1962. For 1963, the July bulletin reports 7,546 portable receivers in the cumulative total for the 7 months ended July. That is a partial-year period and should not be compared with a full-year figure as though their coverage were identical. The 1964 bulletin records 22,777 portable sets for the year. Sources: Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1962, Table 6; Radio and Television Receiving Sets, July 1963, Table 1; Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1964, Table 6
| Period | Canadian domestic portable receiver sales (units) |
|---|---|
| January 1961 | 6,489 |
| February 1961 | 5,003 |
| March 1961 | 4,602 |
| 1961 | 54,039 |
| 1962 | 21,979 |
| 7 months ended July 1963 | 7,546 |
| 1964 | 22,777 |
The bulletin categories refer to domestic sales of receivers made in Canada; the 1961 revised monthly bulletin explicitly defines producer domestic sales as excluding imports. Imported-set figures have therefore not been folded into this series. The reported values retain their original units and period definitions, and the incomplete 1963 period is shown as such. Sources: Radio and Television Receiving Sets, May 1961, Table 9 footnote and Table 11; Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1962, Table 6; Radio and Television Receiving Sets, July 1963, Table 1; Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1964, Table 6
DAB portable radio sales statistics: UK compatibility and sales trends
The UK Digital Radio and Audio Review reports a compatibility detail for portable DAB radios: since 2016, nearly 70% of DAB portable radios sold in the UK were DAB/DAB+ combined. This is a share of sales described as “nearly 70%,” not a unit total. It indicates that the review tracked combined DAB/DAB+ capability within the portable category, but the statement does not provide annual unit sales or a year-by-year breakdown. Source: Digital Radio and Audio Review, paragraph 3.13
The same review reports broader market changes for 2020. In-home DAB radio-set sales fell by 17.8%, while analogue-radio sales fell by 24%. These figures are not portable-only measures: the first concerns in-home DAB sets, and the second covers analogue radios as a broad device class. They supply useful context on UK radio sales categories in 2020, but they cannot be treated as changes in portable DAB sales. Source: Digital Radio and Audio Review, paragraph 3.3
Together, these indicators describe different dimensions of the market: compatibility among DAB portable radios sold since 2016, and year-on-year sales changes in wider radio categories during 2020. The review does not provide a portable-only unit series for those 2020 declines in the checked observations. Keeping the scopes distinct is necessary when comparing digital compatibility with sales movement. Source: Digital Radio and Audio Review, paragraphs 3.3 and 3.13
portable radio sales: Related DAB radio sales statistics: Austrian home devices and FM-only radios
Austria’s Communications Report 2024 gives retail figures for DAB+ receivers intended for domestic use. It reports 88,000 units in 2023 and 86,000 in 2024. The report describes the figures as rounded and says they exclude international online retailers. They concern domestic-use receivers in the Austrian retail sector, rather than portable radios alone, so they should not be read as a portable-device sales series. Source: Communications Report 2024, page 115
The same page states that 167,000 FM-only radios were sold in Austria in 2024, counting standalone devices and radios included as part of hi-fi systems. This describes a different reception category and product scope from the DAB+ domestic-use figures. In particular, the FM-only total includes hi-fi systems, while the DAB+ figures are identified as receivers for domestic use and exclude international online retailers. Source: Communications Report 2024, page 115
These Austrian figures add recent context on home-market radio devices, but they do not measure portable-only purchases. Across all the markets above, the available observations use distinct definitions: Finnish retail estimates in thousands of units, Canadian domestic sales of Canadian-made receivers in units, UK compatibility share and broad sales changes, and Austrian retail device counts with stated category boundaries. Comparisons are most useful when those definitions and periods remain attached to each number.
Sources
- Finnish Mass Media 2002
- Finnish Mass Media 2004
- Radio and Television Receiving Sets, May 1961
- Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1962
- Radio and Television Receiving Sets, July 1963
- Radio and Television Receiving Sets, December 1964
- Digital Radio and Audio Review
- Communications Report 2024