Top Ten Countries With The Fastest Internet Connections

The United States is not among the top ten countries with the fastest internet connections. In fact, it ranks 14 worldwide. Unless you are fortunate enough to live in Kansas City and have access to Google Fiber’s 1 Gbps service, you will likely have to wait until the fiber infrastructure improves and more competition among ISPs drives prices down and speeds up.

This information is based on the Akamai Technologies rankings on averaged peak connection speeds worldwide:

10

Singapore

Speed: 30.7 Mbps

Singapore, known as an international ‘tech hub’ ranks as 10th on this list. Although last on this list, it still offers average internet speeds of 30.7 Mbps, roughly double the global average of 159 Mbps. As part of the country’s initiative of Intelligent Nation 2015, the Singapore Government has been promoting the usage of broadband internet access and is readily available throughout the country, boasting connectivity rates of over 99%. As soon as this initiative hits its mark, Singapore has committed to bringing the nationwide ultra-high speed fiber network to at least 95% of its residents.

9

Israel

Speed: 30.9 Mbps

The Internet has been available in Israel since the 1990’s, but it wasn’t available to the average citizen until the early 2000’s. The recent developments and advancements in broadband technology have allowed the country to reach 9th place on the list of the countries with the fastest internet connections. The internet is commonly delivered through phone and cable infrastructure and reaches an average peaks peed of 30.9 Mbps. Much of the recent pushes for infrastructure are thanks to Israel’s thriving start up tech scene and web culture.

8

Bulgaria

Speed: 32.1 Mbps

Bulgaria is quickly growing due to its ability to attract global companies and investors because of its low taxes and cheap labor. It is also known for its fast internet connections. The average internet speed in Bulgaria is 32.1 Mbps and is accessibly to nearly 60% of residents. Thanks to the recent advances in ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology, the use of the internet has greatly increased and is now available in 208 cities, towns, and villages around the country.

7

Switzerland

Speed: 32.4 Mbps

Switzerland is one of the major financial cities in the world and as a result requires good internet infrastructure. This European country has one of the highest broadband internet penetration rates in all of Europe. For the most part broadband internet has replaced traditional telephone networks and DSL networks have over taken cable technology for the majority of broadband access.

6

Belgium

Speed: 32.7 Mbps

Although Belgium has one of the fastest average peak internet speeds in the world at 32.7 Mbps, the majority of the internet connections have a monthly bandwidth cap in the range of 5GB to 500GB. Luckily, the average user doesn’t come anywhere close to approaching these bandwidth caps.

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5

Romania

Speed: 37.4 Mbps

Internet speed has been a priority in Romania for a number of years. Several Romanian cities rank in the top 100 cities in the world with the fastest internet connections. At a blazing fast 37.4 Mbps, they are only a few percentage points away from being in 4th place overall.

4

Latvia

Speed: 37.5 Mbps

Most people probably wouldn’t think of Latvia when thinking about technologically advanced nations, but their broadband lines average a peak speed of 37.5 Mbps, making them the 4th fastest in the entire world.

3

Japan

Speed: 42.2 Mbps

The Japanese government has stated Internet development was a national goal. Due to the widespread availability of fiber optics throughout the country, the average internet speed is 42.2 Mbps.

2

South Korea

Speed: 48.8 Mbps

South Koreans sure do love their video games. Every year they host several of the top gaming competitions in the world. One of these competitions is the World Cyber Games and is even followed by television networks devoted to “electronic sports.” None of this would be possible if they didn’t have the internet bandwidth to provide for it. Luckily enough, internet speeds in Korea average 48. Mbps and ranks very high in affordability. A lot of the infrastructure is thanks to the government’s backing. The government has adopted a number of policies and programs to facilitate the rapid expansion and the use of broadband. Wireless service is widely available in nearly every major city and most restaurants offer free WiFi to patrons during business hours.

1

Hong Kong

Speed: 54.1 Mbps

With a high population density and strong government backing, internet connections in Hong Kong are blazing fast. Unlike in mainland China, internet censorship doesn’t exist in Hong Kong. No government licenses are required to operate a website and no content is blocked. The average peak speed in Hong Kong measured at 54.1 Mbps. Roughly 70% of the population of Hong Kong are considered to be internet users.

 

Featured Image: Flickr by Roshan Nikam