Countries with the best and worst internet in the world

Why do internet speeds vary between regions?

Although simple on the surface, internet speed is a complex notion linked to many variables.

Users judge it based on the elapsed time from start to finish of a specific task. For instance, higher speed allows websites to open faster or media content to load quickly and in superior quality. However, it is about more than the plan you choose from a particular ISP (Internet Service Provider). Even if you pay for the most expensive package, your connection can still be quite slow.

Here are some of the reasons why internet quality and performance is a multiplex issue. Unfortunately, many conditions are out of regular users’ control. It might relate to government decisions or even the physical environment.

Location of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

Data travels in paths. And, sadly, sometimes the available route is not exactly the shortest. IXPs are physical infrastructures via which ISPs and content delivery networks (CDNs) exchange internet traffic among networks and peers.

Thus, in some instances, data from one country needs to travel through entirely different regions or even continents. Only then can it reach the intended destinations. As a result, countries with more IXPs will be better equipped to deal with local traffic and avoid sending it abroad.

Size of IXPs

The larger Internet Exchange Points are, the more bandwidth they can deliver. Then, ISPs take it and forward it to their customers at a set price.

If the IXP is large and closer to the recipient, the internet performance will likely be of better quality. You can find a map of all IXPs here.

Smaller countries might have the upper hand

In large regions, it is fairly expensive to run the necessary cables. Hence, the implementation of internet infrastructure might be somewhat inadequate due to the high costs of running fiber optics.

In countries with smaller population densities, fewer cables can be sufficient enough to serve all citizens.

Why? More bandwidth will be available per fiber strand. Thus, smaller and less dense locations have the potential to have fast internet cost-effectively.

Lack of competition among ISPs

A healthy rivalry between companies is a must in any industry. It drives innovation and pushes providers to offer products superior to their competitors.

However, in many countries, ISPs avoid rivalry between companies. As noted by The Verge, ISPs in the US divide territories to avoid stepping on each other’s toes. It leaves many citizens with limited options of choosing an internet company. In specific locations, only one provider might offer their services.

Thus, the lack of competition might stop internet providers from upgrading gear or increasing bandwidth.

Internet speed by country

According to different resources, exact rankings might differ slightly. However, the general statistics represent which regions receive the most satisfying speeds in the world (or the opposite).

15 countries with the best mobile internet speeds

All rankings are from March 2024, as revealed in a SpeedTest report.

Before listing the countries with the best internet connectivity, please remember several facts. The global average download speed is approximately 53 Mbps. However, the average upload speed is 11.48 Mbps.

Generally, the download speed is much higher than the upload. For instance, some airports choose to provide lower upload speeds to do more with less bandwidth.

15 countries with the best fixed broadband speeds

The global average download speed here is 93.28 Mbps. For the upload speed, the average is 45.46 Mbps.

15 countries with the worst mobile internet speeds

15 countries with the worst fixed broadband speeds