The cybersecurity company Surfshark has already presented the 2021 edition of Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL). This year, the study indexes 110 countries from different parts of the world and covers 90% of the global population. The study ranks countries in terms of digital well-being based on five pillars: internet quality, internet accessibility, e-infrastructure, e-government and e-security.
With Denmark occupying the first position of the index for the second consecutive year, the new top 10 changed in relation to 2020 with the entry of South Korea to second place, above Finland and Israel. The United States jumped from the 22nd position (2020) to the fifth thanks to improvements in the quality of the Internet and electronic infrastructure in the country. Portugal is in 30th place in the general ranking, which makes it the 21st country with the best quality of life in Europe.
Among countries in Africa, South Africa enjoys the highest quality of digital life. Nigeria had the biggest jump in time to work and pay for the cheapest mobile internet, the Tunisia had the biggest drop in e-government.
Angola, which for the first time entered the study of DQL ranks sixteenth in Africa and position 106 one of the bottom in the world in terms of quality of digital life.
A Few Points 2021 Digital Quality of Life Index
- A Italy had the biggest leap forward in electronic infrastructure, the China had the biggest leap in broadband speed, the Brazil has more stable broadband internet.
- A Switzerland has more stable mobile Internet, the Azerbaijan had the biggest drop in time to work and pay for the cheapest mobile Internet, Philippines had the biggest jump in the quality of the internet.
- A Denmark has a better quality of digital life, the Greece is the best in cybersecurity, the Kenya had the biggest drop in broadband speed, the Ucrania had the biggest jump in the number of Internet users.
BUT: Angola to promote more access to information to digital media
Globally, the cheapest broadband Internet costs 6 hours of work per month. By comparison, Danes and Swedes have to work three times as hard to pay for broadband internet, while Norwegians work four times as hard. The country also has better e-security and e-government scores than Denmark, which ranked first globally this year.
“Digital opportunities have proven to be more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis, underlining the importance of each country securing fully remote operational capabilities for their economies,” explains Vytautas Kaziukonis, CEO of Surfshark.
