Rating of countries by the level of development of information and communication technologies (ICT)

According to statistics, by the end of 2018, more than half (51.2%) of the entire population of the Earth regularly hung up on the World Wide Web. And in developed countries, four out of five people are regularly online.

But in which country is the quality of the Internet and the inextricably linked mobile connection best? The answer to this question can be found in the Information and Communication Technology Development Index published by the International Telecommunication Union. The latest study was released at the end of 2017. The ICT Development Index places the countries of the world in the list according to 11 criteria, which include both the ability to access IT technologies and the breadth of their use and the ability of the population to use them.

ICT Development Index 2017

10. Japan

One of the safest countries in the world opens the list of leading countries in terms of information technology development in 2019. In terms of the number of Internet cables per capita, Japan is the third largest in the world. And experts of the Telecommunications Union note that the ability of the average Japanese to maneuver on the "world wide web" exceeds the ability of an ordinary European.

Also, the Japanese are generally more versed in programming. They are inferior in this indicator only to the residents of the UAE and Luxembourg. And while old-fashioned telephone lines have been diminishing in importance in recent decades, Japan remains among the top three in landline phone revenues. Only China and the USA are overtaking it.

9. Luxembourg

Eight years ago, this tiny European country with an area of ​​just over 2.5 thousand km² and a population of 600 thousand people set itself a goal: to become one of the world leaders in the speed of Internet access.

Well, the Luxembourgers achieved their goal - the Internet in the country is not only publicly available (last year, 95% of the population has access to it), but also very fast. Almost half of Internet users can download information at a speed of at least 1 Gb / s.

However, the government of the country believes that Luxembourg still has room to grow, and intends to provide 100% of the population with such a rate by 2020.

8. Norway

Norway's largest telecommunications provider, Telenor, is 30% state-owned. Whether because of this fact, or in spite of, but the Norwegians can boast of the fastest mobile Internet in the world. The average download speed in Norway is 52.6 Mb / s, and by this indicator the Scandinavians overtake even the recognized capital of IT technology - Singapore.

Telenor has invested millions of crowns in the development of 4G technology, and the money invested is starting to pay off. The country is growing not only the speed of the mobile Internet, but also the number of subscribers. Not only that, Norway is a provider of mobile Internet services to neighboring Denmark.

7. Netherlands

Along with Luxembourg and Belgium, the Netherlands is among the top three leaders in terms of cable and mobile Internet speeds, as well as the degree of its availability for all segments of the population.

As of 2018, more than 76% of the total population of the country could use the Internet at a speed of 30 Mb / s and above. In addition, almost all hotels, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions and government offices in the Netherlands are equipped with free wireless Internet access. True, sometimes you need to ask the staff for the code.

6. Hong Kong

The small size of Hong Kong (its area is only 1.1 thousand km²) and high population density (7.5 million people) have their advantages. The smaller the country, the easier it is to cover literally the entire population with the Internet, and not just any kind, but high-tech and high-speed.

Among Asian countries, Hong Kong boasts one of the highest average peak broadband speeds. An important role is played by Hong Kong's status as an international financial and commercial center, as well as its proximity to the dynamically developing Chinese market.

However, the higher the development of mobile communications, the worse the old-fashioned telephone lines do. Therefore, the population of Hong Kong is massively switching to wireless communication.

5. United Kingdom

The UK is in fifth place in the ranking of the leading countries in terms of IT development. And it is not surprising, given that it was in this country that one of the oldest Internet networks in the world appeared, which has been successfully functioning for more than a quarter of a century.

However, if residents of English cities enjoy high-speed Internet, both mobile and cable, then residents of rural areas of the country have to be content with less. Even in our time, the speed of the Internet outside the city in the daytime rarely exceeds 256 Kbps. And only at night it rises to 1 Mb / s or more. For this reason, Britain usually ranks 30-40 in internet speed ratings.

4. Denmark

This country is one of the world leaders in the number of households with the Internet (97% in 2017). However, for some reason, last year this value decreased by 4%, which, however, did not prevent the country from taking the honorable fourth place in terms of the development of IT technologies.

The age of the most Internet active population ranges from 25 to 37 years old, and these people log on to the Internet almost every day.

An interesting fact: tourists should note that some ISPs only work with Danes. If you don't have a Danish social number, you won't get internet. Fortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule in the market. In addition, Denmark is widely provided with free wi-fi, it is found in almost every library, restaurant or hotel.

And recently, the Danish government issued a decree requiring municipal centers to provide tourists with free internet in the city center.

3. Switzerland

For one of most prosperous countries in the world 4G is already outdated technology. Earlier this year, three major mobile operators paid for access to megahertz frequencies in excess of CHF 380 million. The purpose of the acquisition is to deploy 5G communications. And now work on the creation of a 6G network is in full swing!

However, Swiss scientists are sounding the alarm: they believe that a series of studies should be carried out before the sale to make sure that high frequencies are completely safe for the population and the environment. It's not even about the effects of the frequencies themselves, but about the construction of many wireless antennas throughout the country. After all, 5G technology is capable of transmitting information only over short distances - according to some sources, only up to 10-12 m.

2. South Korea

Koreans are one of the most internet-savvy and smartphone-driven nations in the world. According to statistics, 9 out of 10 Koreans over childhood regularly use the Internet and have at least one smartphone. And the total number of mobile phone owners is 94% of the total population of the country.

Internet in Korea is considered to be one of the fastest in the world, its average speed is 2.5 Gb / s. Moreover, one of the leading telecommunications companies in the country is going to squeeze the pedal to the floor, providing its fellow citizens with a connection at speeds up to 10 Gb / s. And so that you can fully appreciate the greatness of this figure, let us inform you that in the United States in 2018 the average speed was only 18.7 MB / s.

At the same time, Koreans are generally neutral about social networks. Only 69% of the population has an account in at least one social network. For comparison, in the Netherlands and Australia, 93% of residents post photos and like them.

1. Iceland

Of course, the title of one of the happiest countries in the world Iceland is not only benefiting from excellent internet. But this factor also played an important role.

A small island at the very edge of Europe boasts a huge number of fiber optic cables per capita. Compared to the previous year, cable Internet access has grown by 33.8%, and as a result, almost 78% of Icelandic households have Internet access. And almost every Icelander has access to three 4G networks, and the average download speed is 66 Mb / s.

Icelanders' advanced computer skills, including programming skills, are the highest in Europe. 59% of Icelanders follow Netflix, 92% are on Facebook, and another 62% regularly post photos on Snapchat.

Russia is in the list of the best countries in terms of IT development at 45th place, behind Latvia (35th line) and Belarus (32nd line). And the most developed country of the former USSR in the field of IT is Estonia. It is in 17th place, behind the USA (16th position) by only 0.04 points.