In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 countries with fastest internet speeds. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 countries with fastest internet speeds.
The modern world is entirely dependent on internet access, and has resulted in the creation of entire industries and sectors revolving around the internet, including most of the biggest tech companies in the world. This is why countries across the world have spent significant resources in improving internet infrastructure, allowing global internet penetration to jump from just 5% in 2009 to over 60% in 2021, according to the World Bank. High level of internet access has also had a significant impact on helping businesses grow. Online retailers combine to form one of the biggest industries in the world and without internet access, companies such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) would be a fraction of the size they are today, while purely tech companies such Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) would not exist.
Of course, as it is true for all resources, internet access is not evenly spread at all, with the countries with the highest internet penetration rates in 2023 all seeing more than 90% of their population able to access the internet while countries with the lowest internet penetration rates in 2023 have less than 25% of their population able to access the internet. Additionally, in countries where internet isn't easily available, either due to lack of resources, lack of infrastructure and / or geographical constraints (the greater the land area, the greater the infrastructure needed to provide internet access), not only can the cost of having an internet subscription be really high, speeds are often generally considerably lower not to mention unreliable, which can have a significant impact on business and even on the country's economy in today's internet dependent world, which is why the countries with the fastest internet speeds also have strong economies.
20 countries with the fastest internet speeds
Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash
There are several studies showcasing the impact of internet penetration on a country's economy. One such study conducted by Brian Reif from Stetson University considered the Nordics as a case study, assessing the impact of internet access on the region's GDP. It is important to remember that most of the Nordic countries not only have some of the highest internet penetration rates in the world, but are also among the countries with the highest internet speeds. The study discovered that better internet access has a strong correlation with a country's GDP, with the latter lagging a couple of years behind the former. This means that if you use statistics to check countries where internet penetration is improving significantly, making investments in such nations may be beneficial as a corresponding improvement in GDP is likely in the next few years.
However, just as important is internet speed, which is often not uniform even in countries where internet penetration is high. Additionally, higher internet speeds can be a really costly investment, especially in countries like the U.S., mainly because of lack of competition. While the U.S. is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world such as AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:VZ), in many areas in the country, there is just one major internet service provider, which allows them to charge much higher rates. In fact, according to the Milken Institute Review, “Nearly two out of five U.S. households live in areas with only one or two internet service providers (ISPs) and 70 million Americans have only one choice." There have also been studies on the impact of very high-speed broadband on local economic growth, with one study concluding "Very high-speed broadband networks are considered by policy makers to be a significant factor of economic growth in many sectors of the economy. There is a large consensus among economists to support the benefits of infrastructure investment for the national economy. Many countries worldwide have adopted a national broadband plan, in which they set ambitious objectives for broadband availability. As infrastructure investment produces spill overs, it affects all sectors of the national economy. However, the economic benefits vary significantly across sectors. Considering the evolution of the number of companies, we observe that the presence of a very high-speed broadband network has a direct effect on the construction sector, as it leads to job creation to deploy the network. It also stimulates further investment in ICT systems or devices, which positively benefits the industrial sector. As foreseen by policy makers and economic analysts, very high-speed broadband networks have on average a positive impact for companies operating in the tertiary sector, where indirect jobs requiring ICT skills are mostly found."
The advent of 5G is likely to improve internet speeds wherever it is deployed. While only available in a few dozen countries had 5G as at the beginning of January 2023, more and more countries are likely to adopt it, which might result in a shuffle among the countries with the fastest internet speeds. This is also likely to have a major impact in the Emerging Markets region, which is home to many of the countries with the slowest internet speeds in the world. According to a study commission by Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), all 15 emerging market countries considered in the study could see an improvement in GDP growth by 0.3% to 0.46% in the next 13 years, " with an estimated three-to-seven-fold cost-to-benefit ratio". Many developing economies are dependent on agriculture because of which a large number of their population lives in rural areas with poor internet coverage. However, 5G will likely have the ability to provide coverage to rural areas which can result in an enhanced contribution from agriculture to GDP. Of course, the impediment is that fact that it will cost $3 to $8 billion per country for deployment of 5G, while even more will be needed to extend said coverage, which can be very difficult for nations already grappling with limited funds.
Methodology
To determine the countries with the highest internet speeds, we considered both their average broadband speed and mobile internet speed as at July 2023 with data being taken from the Global Speedtest Index by Ookla. We then ranked each country based on both these criteria, assigning 60% weightage to broadband and 40% to mobile internet speeds.
20. Romania
Average Mobile internet Speed (in Mbps): 56.4
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 167.0
Central Europe has seen huge improvements in broadband internet, while also being able to provide internet speed at a cost-effective rate, and Romania's average internet speed far exceeds that of even the United Kingdom and Germany.
19. New Zealand
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 64.2
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 160.4
New Zealand has been aiming to improve not just internet penetration but internet speeds as well, especially in its Northern-most island of Aotearoa. However, there is still a gap between urban and rural internet speeds, with one possible option to close this gap being satellite internet services.
18. Canada
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 72.7
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 147.7
Bell Pure Fiber has been ranked as the best internet service provider in Canada, providing the fastest internet access in Canada.
17. Norway
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 122.7
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 106.5
One of the two nations among those with the fastest internet speeds globally where mobile internet speed is faster than broadband speed, a recent study displayed that at least 96% of Norwegian households have access to internet with a speed higher than 100 Mbps.
16. Hong Kong
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 52.9
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 243.0
Hong Kong is considered to be among the top cities in the world for hybrid working, and it's high-speed internet access is one of the main contributing factors.
15. Taiwan
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 69.8
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 177.4
Taiwan is taking inspiration from Ukraine in an attempt to bolster its race to build satellite internet in an effort to maintain communications even if an attack takes place by China.
14. Netherlands
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 106.3
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 136.6
Open Dutch Fiber is a Dutch internet service provider which has continued to expand fiber operations in Ultrecht and Weesp, and which could help contribute to the Netherlands improving its rankings among the countries with the fastest internet speeds.
13. France
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 74.2
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 166.2
In Paris alone, there are 29 options in terms of internet providers while across the country, everyone has at least 4 options for internet service providers.
12. South Korea
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 140.5
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 133.4
Recently, South Korea fined multiple mobile carriers a total of $25 million for exaggerating their 5G speeds, with these companies including KT Corp, LG Uplus Corp and SK Telecom Co Ltd.
11. Qatar
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 186.4
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 127.4
One of the countries with the highest GDP per capita, Qatar has made significant investments in high-speed internet access and the relatively small geographical size of the country has made it easier to provide such access to nearly everyone in the country.
Uruguay has the fastest internet speed in South America and is one of the few countries in our list of countries with the fastest internet speed in the world to have higher mobile internet speed as compared to broadband speed.
8. Macau (SAR)
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 99.2
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 158.3
Macau boasts high broadband and mobile internet speeds with a greater adoption of fiber services the main reason behind this success.
7. Iceland
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 109.3
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 151.0
The country with the second-fastest internet speed in Europe, Iceland recently topped a European survey on best internet value.
6. United States of America
Average Mobile internet speed (in Mbps): 77.4
Average Broadband internet speed (in Mbps): 207.3
Despite the issues that we discussed facing the U.S. internet industry, including high costs, the U.S. is still undoubtedly one of the countries with the fastest internet speeds in the world.
