By Steve Agbota
A new global study conducted by cybersecurity firm Surfshark has ranked Nigeria 82nd among 110 countries in the world in its Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2021.
The third annual edition of the DQL ranks also Nigeria 107 in the internet affordability in the world, adding that Nigeria’s internet affordability is 90 per cent worse than the global average.
Covering 90 per cent of the global population, the DQL study is conducted by the Surfshark and evaluates countries based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars.
The study shows that ‘Nigeria lags with internet affordability (ranks 107th), e-government (95th), and e-infrastructure (90th), but shows similar to the global average results in internet quality (56th) and e-security (46th).
‘Nigeria’s digital quality of life remains similar to last year’s. Despite the slight fall in the leaderboard, the country comes first in Western Africa and shows slightly better results in some pillars than the global average. Its e-security is among the top 50 worldwide, surpassing Africa’s DQL leader South Africa.’
The study ranked Nigeria 56th in the internet quality index due to low internet speeds, saying the country has one of the slowest broadband connection speeds globally (13.45 Mbps), ranking 105th, and slightly faster mobile internet (17.91 Mbps), ranking 96th.
However, the country’s broadband speed growth is one of the fastest on the planet, ranking 16th.
The study shows that Nigeria’s internet affordability is 90 per cent worse than the global average, it added that people in Nigeria have to work the most time in the world more than 35 hours to afford the cheapest broadband internet.
It said the country’s e-government also does not make it to the top 90th, falling behind Senegal, Morocco, and Tanzania.
‘Digital opportunities have proved to be more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis and the importance for every country to ensure fully remote operational capacities for their economies,’ said CEO of Surfshark, Vytautas Kaziukonis.
‘That is why, for the third year in a row, we continue the Digital Quality of Life research, which provides a robust global outlook into how countries excel digitally. The index sets the basis for meaningful discussions about how digital advancement impacts a country’s prosperity and where improvements can be made.’
In an all-around picture, 6 out of 10 countries holding the highest scores are located in Europe, following last year’s trend. Denmark ranks 1st in DQL for the second year in a row and is closely followed by South Korea. Finland ranks 3rd, while Israel and the U.S. round out the top five of 110 nations that were evaluated. The bottom 5 countries are Ethiopia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala, and Angola.
Regionally, the US stands out as a country with the highest digital quality of life in the Americas, while South Korea takes the leading position in Asia. Among countries in Africa, people in South Africa enjoy the highest quality of their digital lives whereas Australia leads in Oceania, outperforming New Zealand in various digital areas.