Electronic devices, multimedia and computers are things that we deal with every day and which have a huge influence on our daily life. Especially the Internet is becoming more and more important for nearly everybody, and is now our preferred medium of everyday communication. Internet is definitely one of the newest and most forward-looking media and the medium of the future.
However, to enjoy the uninterrupted services of the internet, you need to have good connectivity. There are two important metrics in bandwidth allocation (measured in Megabits per second or Mbps): download and upload speed, denoting the speed of inbound and outbound data respectively.
The average web page loads at 6.3 Mbps universally, a number that denotes how many million bits of data can be moved in a second.
While 6.3 mbps is quick enough to send an email or watch a Netflix show, it’s still very slow.
Akamai Technologies, a Massachusetts-based internet provider, did a study on how the internet speeds measure up in countries worldwide. The company releases a report every quarter that ranks countries as per their internet speed.
According to them, here are the top 10 countries, which are mentioned in descending order of net connectivity.
1. South Korea
According to the Akami report, people in South Korea enjoy the fastest internet in the world. The country’s average internet speed measures 29 Mbps, which is 4.6 times as quick as the global average.
To put things in viewpoint, the average HD film is about 5,000 mb. A computer could download that in a little over two and a half minutes at 29 Mbps speed.
In spite of more than 80% of South Korean households have access to some of the world’s fastest internet connections, they face usage limitations. Several internet users have to face strong internet censorship in South Korea, according to a 2015 report by the nonprofit Freedom House.
2. Norway.
Norway witnessed the biggest growth (68%) in internet speed at 21.3 Mbps since last year in comparison to any other country in the top 10. At this speed, a computer could upload or download about five high-quality photos per second.
3. Sweden.
Sweden’s internet offers an average of 20.6 Mbps, which means that many people hardly face any experience delays, even if they have multiple applications running that use a lot of bandwidth.
Since last year, the country has noticed a 32% increase in speed.
4. Hong Kong
Hong Kong was the first country in the world to hit 60 Mbps in 2013. Today, its residents enjoy an average internet speed of 19.9 Mbps.
5. Switzerland
The internet in Switzerland rises at an average 18.7 Mbps, a 25% increase from last year.
6. Latvia
Latvia’s average internet speed is 18.3 Mbps, which is nearly three times quicker than the global average.
7. Japan
Users in Japan experience an average internet speed of 18.2 Mbps, which is offered to them by high-speed fiber optics (cables that enable faster internet). This means that even if there are several people in a household who are using Netflix, or are playing video games, and browsing the web on different devices at the same time, they will not experience any slow-downs.
Japan is one of the many countries working on super-fast 100 Gbps (Gigabits per second) internet.
Meanwhile, the Japanese provider So-net offers 2 Gbps internet that is twice as fast as Google Fiber, making it the world’s fastest commercially available internet service.
8. The Netherlands
The Netherlands’ average internet speed is 17.9 Mbps. According to a 2014 report, the country also brags the highest percentage of households using the internet in the EU (European Union).
9. Czech Republic
Witnessing a 31% increase from last year, the internet in the Czech Republic loads 17.8 Mbps on average. This speed is somewhat above what most people in the U.S. would think as average that allows you to watch HD videos and surf the web without any kind of interruption.
10. Finland
People in Finland use the internet at 17.7 Mbps on an average, which is comparatively fast.
In 2010, the country’s Ministry of Transport and Communications provided every Finnish citizen at least a one Mbps internet connection. One Mbps will let you send emails at a snail’s pace, browse the web, and watch low-quality YouTube videos. It is an extremely slow speed for downloading or uploading huge files.
