A new study conducted by Surfshark, a cybersecurity company has ranked Nigeria 82nd among 110 countries in the world’s Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2021.
the DQL study evaluates 90 percent of the global population based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars – internet affordability and quality, e-infrastructure, e-security, and e-government.
According to the DQL Index 2021, Nigeria dropped by 1 in the DQL ranking but is still the best in Western Africa.
How Nigeria Performed on DQL
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).
“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 at 56th position in the internet quality index due to low internet speeds. Nigeria 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% worse than the global average. People in Nigeria have to work the most time in the world – more than 35 hours – to afford the cheapest broadband internet. The country’s e-government also does not make it to the TOP 90th, falling behind Senegal, Morocco, and Tanzania.
What they are saying
Vytautas Kaziukonis, CEO of Surfshark said, “Digital opportunities have proved to be more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis, stressing the importance for every country to ensure fully remote operational capacities for their economies. 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.”
Other findings from the report
- Broadband is globally less affordable this year. Comparing countries included in both DQL20 and DQL21, people have to work 11% more (25 min more) to afford broadband internet in 2021. However, people have to work 29% less (28 min less) to afford mobile internet this year.
- The world’s worst internet is the least affordable. People in some countries, such as Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, and Mali require approximately a week’s worth of work to afford the internet.
- Investing in electronic infrastructure and the electronic government contributes to people’s digital wellbeing the most.