In the modern world, we use the Internet more than ever and for almost everything. Young people use the Internet to search for information about their studies, chat with friends or watch videos on TikTok. And adults do the same, or more: pay bills, telework or even meet a partner and interests … And if we depend on something to use the Internet well, it is its speed.
And how fast does an Internet page load you? The answer depends on the device you are using and where in the world you are. Average Internet speeds vary greatly from country to country. So the following question arises: Which countries have the fastest Internet connection?
A map produced by Visual Capitalist, using data from the Speedtest Global Index, ranks the fastest (and slowest) internet speeds around the world, comparing both fixed and mobile broadband. To do this, it uses data from millions of people, in 190 countries.
You can see the map in its maximum resolution here.
But to understand such numbers, it is important to understand the key factors that affect a country’s Internet speed. Generally speaking, it depends on:
- Infrastructure or the type of cabling (copper or fiber optic) that a country uses to support its Internet service. Typically, the newer the infrastructure, the faster the connection.
- The proximity and access to submarine cables This is important, as these huge submarine fiber optic cables carry approximately 97% of the world’s communication data. In Engadget we have talked about it.
- The size of a countryas land mass affects how much it costs to upgrade infrastructure. The smaller the country, the cheaper it is to upgrade the wiring.
- The investment It also makes a difference, or how much a country’s government prioritizes Internet accessibility.
Of course, other factors can also influence a country’s internet speed, such as government regulation and intentional bandwidth limitation, which is the case in countries like Turkmenistan or Cuba.
Comparison by country
Singapore ranks first when it comes to the fastest fixed broadband, with a download speed of 262.2 mbps, more than double the world average. Size could be a factor in your internet speed, as it is one of the smallest and also the densest countries in the world, with an area of only 450 square kilometers.
The country’s government has also prioritized investment in digital infrastructure, especially in recent years. In 2020, Singapore promised to invest $ 2.52 billion in digital innovation, with a portion dedicated to improving the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.
The second place is held by Hong Kong. The third, Monaco. And the fourth Switzerland. Spain is ranked number 16, only one place behind China (the most populous country in the world) and very close to other European countries such as France, Denmark or Luxembourg.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Cuba has the slowest fixed broadband, with a speed of 3.46 mbps. In addition to poor government funding, the country also has limited access to undersea cables. While most countries are connected to several, Cuba is only connected to one.
This type of connection must be differentiated from that of mobile Internet, which uses mobile phone towers to transmit the Internet wirelessly to phones. Therefore, the classification of mobile Internet speeds varies with respect to fixed broadband.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are at the top of the list, with a download speed of 195.5 mbps. Mobile data is not only fast in the country, but also they are also relatively cheap, compared to other countries in the ranking. The average cost of 1 GB of data in the United Arab Emirates is around 3 euros while in South Korea (number 2 on the list) it is 9 euros.
What is considered fast Internet?
Internet speed is determined by the amount of data the connection can download (download speeds) or upload (upload speeds) per second. In both cases, the speed is displayed in bits per second (bps). Since an Internet connection transfers thousands of bits per second, we use the prefixes k, M, and G to show how many thousands of bits we are talking about.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a broadband Internet connection has a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 3 Mbps. This gives us a basis for determining what are fast Internet speeds and slow A good speed is 25 Mbps or higher. These speeds will support most online activity, such as HD streaming, video games, web browsing, or music downloads.
For example, Skype recommends upload speeds of 1.2 Mbps or more for HD video calls. And uploading a large file, such as a 700MB file document, should take less than 10 minutes with a 10Mbps upload connection.
Fast internet speeds, those in the 100+ Mbps range, are usually better, especially if you want to use multiple devices and users at the same time. And what is considered slow Internet? Download speeds below 25 Mbps are too slow to be considered broadband. At these speeds, users can experience buffering when streaming video, difficulty connecting multiple devices, and other internet connectivity issues.
Small speed increases, such as 15 to 25 Mbps, probably won’t make a noticeable difference in performance, but larger jumps, say 10 to 100 Mbps, can give you a totally different experience.
According to Ookla, a company specializing in Internet speed testing, the global average download speed on fixed broadband was 85.73 Mbps in 2020. The average mobile download speed was 35.96. As technology becomes more advanced and networks improve, these numbers are expected to continue to grow.