📡 Radio around the world: AM, FM, DAB+ and streaming
How many stations there are, how the four ways of broadcasting are changing and where each country stands. Only numbers with their source.
Numbers checked on Ottobre 16, 2026. Every number has its source: tap it to open it.
The world in four numbers
Nobody counts the world's stations split by AM, FM, DAB+ and streaming: there are only general estimates and country-by-country data.
radio stations in the world (estimate)
ONU/UNESCO, ripresa da Al Jazeera, 2016stations you can listen to online on Radio Garden
Radio Garden, 2024DAB+ receivers sold in 11 main markets
WorldDAB / RedTech, 2025European countries with DAB/DAB+ broadcasts
WorldDAB, 2025How the four media are changing
AM is switching off, FM is holding up, digital is growing: over the air (DAB+) and over the internet (streaming).
📻 AM↘ Declining
- In the USA there are 4,342 AM stations: 7% fewer than 10 years ago.
FCC, 2025 - Germany (2015) and France (2016-2017) switched off public medium and long wave; the BBC switched off Radio 4 on long wave in 2026.
Assemblée nationale; WorldDAB, 2017-2026 - In Japan, 44 of 47 commercial AM stations are moving to FM only by 2028.
radioinfo, 2021 - Some electric cars no longer have AM radio.
The Drive, 2022-2024
📡 FM→ Holding up
- In the USA: 6,589 commercial FM stations (−2% in 10 years) and 4,755 non-commercial ones (+16%).
FCC / Radio World, 2025 - Norway switched off national FM in 2017; local stations stayed on FM.
Radionytt, 2021 - Switzerland tried to switch off FM: public radio lost about 6 points of listening share, and in 2026 the mandatory switch-off was dropped.
Parlamento svizzero; heise, 2025-2026
🔊 DAB+↗ Growing
- In the European Union, since 21/12/2020 the radio in new cars must receive digital radio.
Codice europeo delle comunicazioni elettroniche, art. 113, 2020 - In Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, 97% of new cars have DAB+.
WorldDAB, 2025
🌐 Streaming↗ Growing
- In the UK, 30.3% of all radio listening goes through the internet (smart speakers 18.7%, websites and apps 11.6%).
RAJAR, Q2 2026 - In the USA, 81% of people aged 12 and over listen to online audio every month (radio, podcasts and music together).
Edison Research, The Infinite Dial, 2026
The differences, in short
General technical features of the four ways of broadcasting.
| 📻 AM | 📡 FM | 🔊 DAB+ | 🌐 Streaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How far it reaches | Very far, especially at night | Tens of km, regional | Regional or national, per multiplex | Anywhere there's internet |
| Needs a frequency | Yes | Yes, with a licence | Yes, a slot in a multiplex | No: you need music rights (in Italy SIAE and SCF) |
| Audio quality | Low, mono, interference | Good, stereo | Digital, no hiss | Depends on the chosen bitrate |
| Text, images, data | None | RDS: name and text | Text and images | Everything: apps, covers, listening stats |
| In the car | Disappearing from some cars | Almost always | Mandatory in new EU cars since 2020 | With a smartphone, CarPlay or Android Auto |
| Cost for the broadcaster | High: transmitters and power | Equipment and frequencies | Multiplex share | The lowest |
Country by country
What each country's official sources say. Empty boxes are data that don't exist or aren't up to date: better empty than made up.
| Country | Stations | AM / FM | DAB+ | Streaming | Year and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇹 Italy | ~1,000 local + 400 community | private networks ~90% of the population outdoors; Rai over 70% | official figure not published | 2024-25 AGCOM; WorldDAB, 2025 | |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | ~1,000 on DAB | AM/FM 24.5% of listening | 42.7% of listening | 30,3% | Q2 2026 RAJAR; Ofcom, 2026 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | public radio off FM since 2024 | 42% of listening minutes | 41% | 2024 WorldDAB, 2025 | |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | national FM switched off in 2017 | 99.7% of the population covered | 2025 WorldDAB; Radionytt, 2025 | ||
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 40% of households have a DAB+ set; 1 car in 4 | 2025 teltarif, 2025 | |||
| 🇫🇷 France | 557 stations on DAB+ | public long wave closed in 2017 | ~65% of the population; target 80% by end of 2026 | 2025 WorldDAB, 2025 | |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | ~40 stations on DAB+ | FM 84.6% of listening | ~20% coverage; 2.6% of listening | 2024-25 Radio World, 2025 | |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium (French-speaking) | 27% of listening volume | 14% | 2025 WorldDAB, 2025 | ||
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | ~95% of the population covered | 2024 Radio World, 2024 | |||
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 98% of new cars with DAB | 2025 WorldDAB, 2025 | |||
| 🇺🇸 United States | 15.686 | 4.342 AM / 11.344 FM | doesn't use DAB (uses HD Radio) | 81% listen to online audio every month | 2025-26 FCC; Edison Research, 2025 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1,133 AM stations moved to FM | ~2023 DPL News, 2023 | |||
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 66% of the population covered | 3.1 million listen to commercial radio via streaming | 2025 WorldDAB, 2025 | ||
| 🇮🇳 India | 388 private FM + 591 public stations + 531 community | 2025 TRAI, 2025 | |||
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 47 commercial AM | 44 moving to FM only by 2028 | 2021 radioinfo, 2021 |
For other countries (for example China and Canada) we found no recent, reliable count.
🇮🇹 And in Italy?
- About 1,000 active local stations (about 1,300 brands registered with the ROC) and 400 community stations.
USFI; AGCOM, 2024-2025 - About 35 million listeners on an average day and 7.7 million in an average quarter hour.
Audiradio, via L'Espresso, 2025 - DAB+: private networks cover about 90% of the population outdoors; Rai was at 56% in May 2025 and aims for over 85% by end of 2026.
WorldDAB, 2024-2025 - About 16.2 million DAB receivers sold in Italy, cars included.
WorldDAB, 2025 - About 70% of radio listening happens in the car.
Reti DAB italiane, via WorldDAB, 2024 - There's no official figure yet on how much listening goes through FM, DAB+ or the internet.
The numbers come from different sources, measure different things and are from different years: they show the direction, they shouldn't be added together.
A streaming station doesn't need a frequency
All you need is internet: your station can be heard all over the world, on phones, in cars and on smart speakers. With RSN you get website, player, app and studio in one place.