oldradiobuilder.com Radio History & Electronics Hobbies

Statistics

Shortwave Broadcasting Stations Statistics: Counts, Power, and Monitoring

NASB station estimates and ILGRadio database, power, and monitoring statistics, with each figure kept to its stated scope and period.

November 12, 2026 6 min read oldradiobuilder.com Editorial Team

Contents

Shortwave broadcasting stations statistics: Historical U.S. station licensing and current counts

Shortwave station figures refer to different things: a licensing history, an approximate count of privately owned broadcasters, or a database of monitored signals. Those measures have different scopes and dates, so they do not combine into a single global station total. NASB gives a historical U.S. milestone, an undated estimate for the United States and its territories, and a qualitative description of worldwide scale. (NASB history and FAQ)

NASB says privately licensed U.S. shortwave stations had reached 16 by 1989. Under its “Licensed from 1982–1989” heading, the association lists KCBI, KFBS, KHBI, KNLS, KSDA, KUSW, KVOH, KYOI, WCSN, WHRI, WMLK, WRNO, and WWCR. That is a historical list of 13 named entries under a period heading; it is distinct from the stated total for 1989. Neither figure is a current operating-station register. (NASB history and FAQ)

NASB measureFigureScope and period
Privately licensed U.S. shortwave stations16By 1989
Stations listed under the licensing period131982–1989
Privately owned FCC-licensed stationsAbout 20United States and its territories; undated estimate

NASB’s FAQ estimates about 20 privately owned shortwave stations licensed by the FCC throughout the United States and its territories. “About” makes this an approximate figure, and the page does not date the estimate. It should not be presented as a precise count for a particular year. The FAQ describes the worldwide number as “hundreds,” without supplying an exact total. It also says there are no worldwide surveys determining shortwave audiences; that concerns audience measurement, not a station census. (NASB history and FAQ)

Shortwave broadcasting stations statistics: What ILGRadio’s database counts

ILGRadio reports data sets and signal classifications, not a census of unique broadcasters. Its database includes broadcasting and utility data, and the site says repeated monitoring of the same signal entry during a season is listed once. A broadcaster can still be represented by more than one signal record; therefore, a total of data sets cannot be read as a count of stations or transmitting organizations. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

The November 2026 meter reports 89,120 data sets in the overall database, including broadcasting and utility records. Its broadcasting line gives counts tagged to monitoring years: 5,353 for 2026, 1,251 for 2025, 319 for 2024, and 266 for 2023. These are year tags in the November 2026 snapshot, not counts of stations founded or operating in those years. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

November 2026 meter itemData setsLabel meaning
Overall database89,120Broadcasting and utility data sets
Broadcasting tagged 20265,353Monitoring-year tag
Broadcasting tagged 20251,251Monitoring-year tag
Broadcasting tagged 2024319Monitoring-year tag
Broadcasting tagged 2023266Monitoring-year tag

A separate final A26 display, in a database snapshot dated September 5, 2026, classifies 13,331 broadcasting sets for the season March 29–October 24, 2026. It lists 8,508 AM sets excluding jamming, 176 DRM sets, 3,524 SSB sets, and 1,121 jamming sets. Jamming has its own line, labelled AM/DRM/USB in the source. These are classifications of signal sets in that seasonal snapshot. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

The November meter and the A26 classification have different snapshot dates and answer different questions. One reports an overall database total and broadcasting data sets by monitoring-year tag; the other groups broadcasting sets by signal classification for a stated season. Their labels and periods matter when comparing or quoting the figures. Neither establishes the number of unique stations. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

Shortwave broadcasting stations statistics: Transmitter power ranges

NASB’s FAQ offers power examples for different kinds of shortwave service. It says some regional stations intended to reach one country or a limited distance may use 1,000 or 5,000 watts. Those are possible examples, not a minimum for all stations and not a tally of how many broadcasters use either level. (NASB history and FAQ)

For some large government-owned stations, NASB says power can reach 500,000 watts. Separately, it gives a range of 50,000 to 500,000 watts for privately owned shortwave stations in the United States. The FAQ’s examples distinguish service descriptions and ownership categories; combining them into one distribution would obscure those distinctions. (NASB history and FAQ)

NASB descriptionReported transmitter power
Some regional stations serving one country or a limited distance1,000 or 5,000 watts
Some large government-owned stationsAs much as 500,000 watts
Privately owned U.S. shortwave stations50,000 to 500,000 watts

The FAQ does not give a survey date, the number of stations behind these statements, or a breakdown by power level. The values support the examples and range NASB reports, but do not establish an average, a frequency distribution, or a trend. (NASB history and FAQ)

Shortwave broadcasting stations statistics: ILGRadio monthly monitoring entries

ILGRadio’s A26 results report received and verified data entries monitored by month. These entries are not counts of unique stations. The listed months cover February and April through September 2026, as well as every month from January through December 2025. The source gives no monthly figure for January or March 2026, so no value should be inferred for those months. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

Monitoring monthData entries monitored
September 20261,343
August 20268,914 — full bandscan
July 20261,517
June 20262,135
May 20261,447
April 20261,619
February 20261,617
December 20251,524
November 20252,280
October 20251,628
September 20251,518
August 20251,018
July 2025728
June 20251,085
May 20251,136
April 20251,621
March 20251,011
February 20251,281
January 20251,654

August 2026 is explicitly marked as a full bandscan and has 8,914 entries. It is the largest listed monthly figure. Among the other reported months, the smallest is 728 entries in July 2025, while November 2025 has 2,280. The source supplies the counts and the bandscan label; these figures do not by themselves explain the month-to-month variation. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

The monthly list is partial for 2026 and complete for 2025 as displayed. Its figures describe monitoring entries during the named months, rather than changes in the number of stations or audience size. In particular, an absent month is not a reported zero. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

Shortwave broadcasting stations statistics: ILGRadio annual monitoring entries

The final A26 results also list calendar-year monitoring entries for 2020–2024. Each value is a count of data entries monitored during that year, not an annual count of broadcasters, transmitters, or unique stations. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

Calendar yearData entries monitored
202411,006
20237,069
20226,485
20216,639
20205,646

Of the listed annual values, 2024 has 11,006 entries and 2020 has 5,646. The intervening totals are 7,069 in 2023, 6,485 in 2022, and 6,639 in 2021. These are ILGRadio’s reported monitoring records for calendar years; they do not establish why totals vary or show that station populations changed in the same way. (ILGRadio Database Statistik)

The monthly and annual figures use the same general unit, monitoring entries, but cover distinct reporting periods: named months in 2025 and 2026, and calendar years from 2020 through 2024. Across the station, power, and database figures, the scope remains central: NASB’s statements concern licensing or transmitter examples, while ILGRadio’s totals describe signal sets and monitoring entries. (NASB history and FAQ; ILGRadio Database Statistik)

Sources

Written by

oldradiobuilder.com Editorial Team

Editorial team

Independent editorial coverage of radio history & electronics hobbies.

More to Explore