Nigeria has ‘most expensive’ internet globally, study of 85 countries says

The cost of internet use is so expensive in Nigeria that the country ranks at the very top in a survey of 85 countries of the world.

An analysis by Surfshark Press, a United States-based solution provider released Monday, said Nigeria ranks below Columbia and Honduras in terms of internet affordability.

“Nigeria has the least affordable internet globally. It ranks below Columbia and Honduras in terms of internet affordability,” it said.

In its methodology, the company said the overall affordability is measured by combining the affordability of the cheapest mobile and broadband plans available in a country.

On the overall analysis of digital quality of life index 2020, Nigeria ranked 81st.

The analysis was based on five pillars: Internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic government, and electronic security.

The examined countries have a combined population of 6.3 billion people.

In Africa, the report said while Nigeria surpassed Algeria, it lagged behind South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Algeria ranked 84th while South Africa took the 59th position. Kenya is in the 77th place, Morocco at 70th and Tunisia at 64th.

According to the report, Nigeria ranked 70th in terms of e-security, 53rd in terms of cybersecurity, 81st in electronic infrastructure and 82nd in electronic government.

It has data protection laws available in the country, the report said.

The report revealed that Nigeria has better internet quality than Peru, Algeria, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

Overall, Denmark came first, followed by Sweden, Canada, France, Norway, Netherlands, and the UK.

The U.S. ranks 22nd; China, 38th and Russia, 42nd.

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Internet is most affordable in Israel, Canada and Azerbaijan, the report found.

“Top 10 countries with the highest e-security levels are the European Union member states. Globally, they lead in implementing effective cybersecurity policies and ensuring personal data protection,” the report says.

The report said countries in Central America and Africa lag behind in terms of ICT adoption and internet usage.

“The government’s readiness to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the artificial intelligence technology and the assortment of its services provided online strongly correlate with the country’s e-security, except for Eastern European, South Asian, and African countries,” it added.

Methodology

The report said information used to index the digital quality of life around the world were gathered from open data sources provided by the United Nations, World Bank, and the International Telecommunications Union.

Also, data were sourced from the U.S. Department of State, World Economic Forum, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, Speedtest, Cable, United Nations University, and the International Development Research Centre.