Bahrain is first in the world in terms of Internet penetration (100 per cent) in the latest measure of digital quality of life.
Surfshark’s fifth annual Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) found that the country’s mobile Internet is 10pc faster when compared to Saudi Arabia and the country’s Internet quality is 7pc higher than the global average.
Bahrain’s mobile Internet speed has improved by 97 per cent since last year while fixed broadband speed has grown by 9pc.
The annual study ranks 121 countries by their digital well-being based on 5 core pillars, and Bahrain performed best in e-infrastructure, claiming 36th place.
The nation ranks 48th in Internet quality, 52nd in network readiness and 57th in Internet affordability, and e-government.
In Asia, Bahrain takes 16th place, with Singapore as the regional leader.
The kingdom is 68th in the world in e-security – 24 places higher than last year.
The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime, as well as how advanced a country’s data protection laws are.
Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the Internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying and shopping.
This pillar evaluates how high Internet penetration is in a given country, as well as its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies).
The e-government pillar shows how advanced a government’s digital services are and the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Bahrain’s e-government is above the global average.
“In many nations, ‘digital quality of life’ has merged into the broader concept of overall ‘quality of life’. There’s no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education, and leisure, are done online. That’s why it’s crucial to pinpoint the areas in which a nation’s digital quality of life thrives and where attention is needed, which is the precise purpose of the DQL Index,” said Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark’s spokeswoman.
Fixed Internet averages 83 Mbps in Bahrain. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed Internet – Singapore’s – is 300 Mbps.
Bahrain’s Internet affordability is just around the global average and Bahrainis have to work 2 hours 17 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband Internet.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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