The Digital Quality of Life Index is an annual study that ranks 121 countries by their digital well-being based on 5 core pillars.

Surfshark’s 5^th annual Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) ranks Nigeria 88^th in the world, dropping by two places from last year. Out of the Index’s 5 pillars, Nigeria performed best in internet quality, claiming 62^nd place, while facing challenges in internet affordability, ranking 108^th. The nation ranks 73^rd in e-security, 88^th in e-government, and 93^rd in e-infrastructure. In the overall Index, Nigeria lags behind South Africa (72^nd) and Kenya (76^th). Nigeria takes 7^th place in Africa, with South Africa the leader in the region.

“In many nations, ‘digital quality of life’ has merged into the broader concept of overall ‘quality of life’. There’s no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education, and leisure, are done online. That’s why it’s crucial to pinpoint the areas in which a nation’s digital quality of life thrives and where attention is needed, which is the precise purpose of the DQL Index”, says Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark’s spokeswoman.

Nigeria’s internet quality is just around the global average

Fixed internet averages 25 Mbps in Nigeria. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed internet — Singapore’s — is 300 Mbps. Meanwhile, Yemen’s slowest fixed internet in the world is 11 Mbps.

Mobile internet averages 47 Mbps. The fastest mobile internet — the UAE’s — is 310 Mbps, while the world’s slowest mobile internet — Venezuela’s — is 10 Mbps.

Compared to South Africa, Nigeria’s mobile internet is 31% slower, while fixed broadband is 64% slower. Since last year, mobile internet speed in Nigeria has improved by 87%, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 33%.

The Internet is highly unaffordable in Nigeria compared to other countries

Nigerians must work 35 hours 25 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. It is 119 times more than in Romania, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet (Romanians must work 18 minutes a month to afford it).

Nigerians have to work 2 hours 59 minutes 15 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is 11 times more than in Luxembourg, which has the world’s most affordable mobile internet (Luxembourgers have to work 16 minutes a month to afford it).

Nigeria is 73^rd in the world in e-security — 7 places lower than last year

The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime and how advanced a country’s data protection laws are. Nigeria lags behind South Africa (72^nd) and Kenya (65^th) in this pillar. Nigeria is unprepared to fight against cybercrime and has very low data protection laws.

Nigeria is 93^rd in e-infrastructure and 88^th in e-government

Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the Internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, shopping, etc. This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country and its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies). Nigeria’s internet penetration is moderate (73% — 86^th in the world) and ranks 105^th in network readiness.

The e-government pillar shows how advanced a government’s digital services are and the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Nigeria’s e-government is below the global average.

Globally, the internet is more affordable than last year

Fixed internet is 11% more affordable than last year—on average, people have to work 42 minutes less a month to afford it.

Mobile internet is 26% more affordable than last year—people must work 41 minutes less to afford it. (Saturday Tribune)

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