Nigeria ranked 82nd among 110 countries in the world in its Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2021, according to a new global study conducted by cyber security firm Surfshark.
The third yearly edition of the DQL ranks also placed 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, adding that people in Nigeria have to work most times 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 90, falling behind Senegal, Morocco and Tanzania.
Chief Executive Officer, Surfshark, Vytautas Kaziukonis, said: “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.
“This 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,” he said. ##
