Many countries in the Middle East region have identified broadband services for the broader goal of nation-building and the transition to a knowledge-based economy
According to Iran digital economy annotation, there is a broad agreement that broadband services are vital in strengthening sustainable economic development and job creation, and are a key component of poverty alleviation strategies, increasing job opportunities and promoting business integration. In fact, broadband is expected to have the same impact on the transformation of the economy and society as a whole that printing presses, steam engines or electricity did in the past, but for it to have its full impact, people need access to it.
Dutch company SurfShark’s survey of digital quality of life around the world shows the prevailing disparities between countries in terms of internet affordability.
SurfShark’s Digital Quality of Life Index shows that the regions of the world where people pay the most on average for mobile and fixed broadband services also have the slowest internet speeds and lowest connection stability. For example, people living in Africa have to work almost 11 hours a month to pay for even the cheapest broadband package, and about 12 minutes to pay for 1 gigabyte of mobile internet.
The countries with the cheapest internet are usually the countries with the slowest internet speeds. The average speed of broadband services in Africa is 4.85 Mbps (global average speed 15.94 Mbps), while the mobile connection is 20.55 Mbps (global average speed 33.53 Mbps ) Is.
The issue of internet costs raises another question for households because, based on the global average, people have to work three hours and 48 minutes a month to pay for even the cheapest broadband package. However, this time period varies from country to country. For example, in Nigeria, it is approximately 34 hours, in Honduras, 10 hours, in the United States, 52 minutes, and in Canada, 7 minutes.
While Scandinavian countries rank highly in terms of overall digital quality of life, they have lower broadband prices than other economically wealthy countries. For example, in Sweden, it is one hour and 46 minutes, in Denmark, one hour and 51 minutes, and in Norway, one hour and 53 minutes.
Digital Quality of Life Research found that there is no apparent relationship between internet affordability and GDP per capita. For example, Iran ranks low in terms of GDP per capita, but according to last year’s SurfShark report, it has the fifth most affordable internet connection in the world. In comparison, Denmark has a high GDP per capita and ranks seventh highest in internet affordability.
Digital Quality of Life Research found that there is no apparent relationship between internet affordability and GDP per capita. For example, Iran ranks low in terms of GDP per capita, but according to last year’s SurfShark report, it has the fifth most affordable internet connection in the world. In comparison, Denmark has a high GDP per capita and ranks seventh highest in internet affordability.
There is also a significant gap between the affordability of broadband internet and mobile phones. Globally, mobile internet is almost 23 times more affordable than broadband. The average working time to buy the cheapest one gigabyte of mobile internet is about 10 minutes.
The 2023 Digital Quality of Life Index, published by Surf Shark, is a survey of the digital well-being of 121 countries, representing 92 percent of the world’s population. This survey has ranked each country based on five pillars affecting the quality of digital life, including internet affordability, internet quality, e-infrastructure, e-security and e-government. The comparison of Iran’s rank with some of the neighboring countries in the Middle East region, based on this index, is as follows:
Iran
World rank in digital quality index: 95 (index 0.34)
Internet affordability rating: 68 (index 0.14)
Internet quality rating: 104 (index 0.27)
Saudi Arabia
Global rank in digital quality index: 45 (index 0.5365)
Internet affordability rating: 74 (0.025 index)
Internet quality rating: 58 (0.0734 index)
United Arab Emirates
World rank in digital quality index: 38 (index 0.5821)
Internet affordability rating: 63 (index 0.2284)
Internet quality rating: first (index 0.1394)
Türkiye
World rank in digital quality index: 55 (index 0.5014)
Internet affordability rating: 65 (index 0.0280)
Internet quality rating: 77 (index 0.0672)
Azerbaijan
World rank in digital quality index: 74 (index 0.4240)
Internet affordability rating: 87 (index 0.0199)
Internet quality rating: 93 (index 0.0610)
Pakistan
World rank in digital quality index: 93 (index 0.3526)
Internet affordability rating: 45 (index 0.0433)
Internet quality rating: 97 (index 0.0579)
Qatar
World rank in digital quality index: 48 (index 0.5277)
Internet affordability rating: 46 (index 0.0422)
Internet quality rating: 19 (index 0.0981)
Kuwait
World rank in digital quality index: 63 (index 0.4660)
Internet affordability rating: 35 (index 0.0501)
Internet quality rating: 26 (index 0.0910)
Oman
World rank in digital quality index: 61 (index 0.4867)
Internet affordability rating: 40 (index 0.0461)
Internet quality rating: 74 (index 0.0678)
Bahrain
World rank in digital quality index: 57 (index 0.4991)
Internet affordability rating: 57 (index 0.0341)
Internet quality rating: 48 (index 0.0804)
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