- Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index evaluates internet services across 121 countries using five key pillars.
- The top countries for internet affordability include Germany, Angola, and Bulgaria, with affordable plans compared to average wages.
- Qatar, Singapore, and the USA lead in internet quality, with fast speeds, stability, and strong improvements.
- The USA, Netherlands, and South Korea rank highest in electronic infrastructure, benefiting from advanced tech and reliable networks.
- European countries like Belgium and Estonia top the e-security rankings, thanks to strong data protection laws and cybersecurity efforts.
How is the internet being used around the world? How are different countries offering internet services to their citizens? Which countries are better than the others in offering these services and what needs to be done to make them better in the future? These questions are answered by Digital Quality of Life Index, an independent research done by Surfshark, a cybersecurity company.
Surfshark analyzed the internet services in 121 countries using five pillars: internet affordability, internet quality, e-infrastructure, e-security and e-government. These pillars are analysed and gauged on the basis of fourteen indicators to generate D.Q.L. Index. Then the company made a position-wise list of the countries in the sample to show which countries are providing better services in different areas than the others.
The following are the key points in its 2024 report:
Internet Affordability
How much do people need to work to afford the internet? According to Surfshark data, this was determined by comparing the cost of the cheapest mobile plan in a country with the average hourly wage there. Then, they compared that cost with the cheapest plan worldwide and adjusted the result slightly. The same method was applied to broadband or fixed internet costs. These two comparisons show how many hours people need to work to pay for internet access.
As per the results, the top five countries with the most affordable internet were Germany, Angola, Bulgaria, Finland and Romania, with the index values of 0.1314, 0.1220, 0.1164, 0.1050 and 0.1005 respectively.
As it can be seen, four out of five countries are from Europe. Angola is the only exception which is an African country. It is not surprising to see European nations topping the list because they are developed countries with most of the services in the affordable range.
Internet Quality
How good is the internet around the world? To figure this out, researchers looked at six things: mobile and broadband speeds, how stable the connection is, and how much the speeds improve over time. They measured the average speed of mobile and broadband internet from April 2023 to April 2024, giving more weight to mobile speed. They also checked how much the speed changed during the year, with stable connections having no or positive changes. Finally, they looked at how much the speeds improved each month. These factors show how fast and reliable the internet is in different countries.
As per these six indicators, Qatar, Singapore, France, the United States and the United Arab Emirates have the best internet quality in the world, with the index values of 0.1381, 0.1280, 0.1274, 0.1228 and 0.1227 respectively.
The top countries under this pillar are from different continents, but they all have one thing in common: they are all well developed countries with strong economies, which have the financial power to provide quality internet service to their citizens.
Electronic Infrastructure
SurfShark also tracked the countries with the most advanced and reliable electronic infrastructure. The more advanced and reliable electronic infrastructure is, the more people will rely on it for their daily work. It used two indicators to derive the index values of this pillar.
The number of people using the internet in a country was divided by the number of people using the internet in a country with the highest value. Then the result was weighted by 0.5 to derive the value.
The second indicator is Network Readiness, which shows to what degree a country is ready to take advantage of communication technologies. The index value of it was derived from the research done by Portulans Institute and then weighed it by 0.5.
The top five countries as per these indicators are the USA, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and South Korea with the index values of 0.1971, 0.1959, 0.1951, 0.1945 and 0.1943 respectively.
The USA is the leading country under this pillar, for it is also the home to the world's best technology companies. Having the best electronic infrastructure in the world is predictable. The same is the case with South Korea which is the home to Samsung, one of the best technology companies in the world. The other three are from Europe, the most advanced continent. So the results are not surprising at all!
Electronic Security
Electronic security revolves around online safety of people and how much legislative work a country has done so far regarding cybercrime.
The first indicator is Cybercrime. To calculate its index value, the National Cybersecurity Index, developed by e-Governance Academy Foundation, was employed. The value from NCI was then weighted by 0.5 to get the index value.
For the second indicator, Data Protection Laws, the company assigned the value from 0 to 5 to countries, depending upon how much legislative work they have done. Then the assigned value was checked against the European Union's General Data Protection Directive.
Lastly, the company divided the assigned value by the highest value of data protection-5-and weighted the result by 0.5 to get the index value of the pillar.
Belgium, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany and Czechia are the top five countries in this pillar, with the index values of 0.2000, 0.1986, 0.1986, 0.1959 and 0.1959 respectively.
The top countries under this pillar are from only Europe. As I have stated above, it is the most advanced continent. European countries have a tendency of making people centric laws to protect them. So Europe stays ahead others even in this area.
Electronic Government
Electronic government includes the use of online systems for providing services to people. It reduces corruption and inefficiency, saves time, and enhances digitalisation.
The company used two indicators under this pillar. The first one is Online Service Index. It used the United Nations Online Service Index which shows the online presence of a government. The O.S.I. was then multiplied by 0.5 to derive the index value.
The second indicator is the AI Readiness Index, which shows a country's capacity to harness the power of AI. The company used the Government Artificial Intelligence Index 2023, developed by Oxford Insights and the International Development Research Centre. A country's AI index value was divided by the highest AI index value and then was weighed by 0.5 to derive the index value.
Under this pillar, Singapore, the USA, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Denmark top the list, with the index values of 0.1950, 0.1914, 0.1892, 0.1880 and 0.1871 respectively.
Again, the countries, the USA and South Korea, with best infrastructure and being the home to best technology companies top the list. Both countries, along with others, use technology extensively tor providing services to their citizens. Singapore and the UAE are small but financial strong countries that employ technology at all levels. Lastly, Denmark, being a European country, is a part of the most advanced and stable continent.
Which countries top the list overall?
Overall, Germany, Finland, France, Netherlands and Denmark top the list, providing the best interest service to their citizens, with the overall index values of 0.7790, 0.7686, 0.7390, 0.7255 and 0.7229 respectively.
The aforementioned data clearly shows that the quality of internet service, whether it is mobile internet or broadband, depends upon the overall state of a country. Strong and stable economies provide better internet services to their citizens than the countries which are not. So Europe being the most advanced, peaceful and stable continent is topping the list.
Why does this research matter?
This research by Surfshark allows countries to look at their internet service comparatively. Countries can improve the areas in which they are lagging behind others by investing. It also allows countries to follow the successful models like Germany and France.
Take a look at below charts for more insights:
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