Amateur radio operator

As a component of their license, amateur radio operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication.

The majority of amateur radio operators worldwide reside in the United States, Japan, and the nations of East Asia, North America, and Europe.

The top five countries by percentage of the population are Slovenia, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Denmark.

Only the governments of Yemen and North Korea currently prohibit their citizens from becoming amateur radio operators.

[citation needed] In the vast majority of countries, the population of amateur radio operators is predominantly male.

[citation needed] The unfavourable age distribution has led to a slow decrease in amateur operator numbers in most industrialised countries due to attrition, but in countries which do not apply yearly licence fees, the effects are not immediately noticed.

[citation needed] The average age of most amateur radio operators is approaching 70 in most European countries.