The countries with the fastest internet in the world have been announced for 2024. Read our insights and browse the rankings below
Iceland has the fastest internet in the world, followed by the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macao, Liechtenstein, Denmark and Andorra. The USA is ranked 10th and the UK is 30th. Turkmenistan has the world’s slowest internet.
Internet comparison site Cable has ranked the countries with the fastest broadband internet in the world based on over 1.5 billion speed tests across over 200 countries and territories. It is the sixth year of the assessment and the latest ranking uses data collected in the 12 months up to 30 June 2024 to evaluate internet speed by country.
If you’re one of the millions of people working in a remote job or pursuing a career as a digital nomad, then internet speed is one of the important factors in your choice of destination. A slow connection affects not only your ability to work from home but also your entertainment options. While there are ways to speed up your internet, essentially it comes down to the internet service provider (ISP) in your country.
10 Countries with the fastest internet
Iceland has the fastest broadband in the world with an average speed of 279.55Mbps.
- Iceland
- Macao
- Liechtenstein
- Denmark
- Andorra
- Netherlands
- France
- Monaco
- South Korea
- USA
10 Countries with the slowest internet
Turkmenistan has the slowest broadband in the world with an average speed of just 2.72Mbps. It would take almost an hour to download a 5GB movie in Turkmenistan.
- Turkmenistan
- Syria
- Yemen
- Tajikistan
- Afghanistan
- Sudan
- Central African Republic
- Ethiopia
- Cuba
- Eritrea
Key headlines
- The global average broadband internet speed is 53.89Mbps (megabits per second).
- Iceland has the fastest broadband in the world with an average speed of 279.55Mbps.
- Turkmenistan has the slowest broadband in the world with an average speed of just 2.72Mbps.
- Thirty-one of the 50 fastest countries are located in Europe, with six in Asia, nine in the Americas, three in the Middle East and one in Oceania.
- By contrast, 30 of the 50 slowest-performing countries are located in Africa.
- Thirty-five countries or territories have average speeds below 10Mbps, a speed deemed by UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom to be the minimum required to cope with the demands of a typical family or small business.
The internet is getting faster, but…
The average global internet speed is getting faster with the global average increasing by 18.35% from 46.79Mbps in 2022 to 55.38Mbps in 2024.
However, it is worth noting that the countries contributing the most to this rise are those in developed nations that have established infrastructure and can therefore roll out the latest technology available.
Year | Mbps | Change: Mbps | Change: % |
2024 | 55.38 | 8.59 | 18.35% |
2023 | 46.79 | 7.41 | 30.04% |
2022 | 35.98 | 6.19 | 20.78% |
2021 | 29.79 | 4.96 | 19.98% |
2020 | 24.83 | 13.8 | 125.11% |
2019 | 11.03 | 1.89 | 20.68% |
2018 | 9.14 | 1.73 | 23.35% |
2017 | 7.41 | – | – |
Comparatively, there is far less development – and therefore less change in availability, rollout and uptake of faster infrastructure – in the bottom half of the ranking compared with the top half.
Generally speaking, the countries with the fastest internet speeds are likely to be smaller and more developed. The larger and less developed a nation is, the slower the internet will likely be.
When it comes to the size of a nation, it is generally much easier to roll out FTTP full-fibre broadband and 5G mobile internet to a smaller population and/or across a smaller area.
Region by region
Unsurprisingly, Europe has the world’s highest concentration of countries with the fastest internet. Seven of the top 10 countries with the fastest internet are in Europe. Iceland has the fastest broadband in Europe and the world an average speed of 279.55Mbps.
Liechtenstein (3), Denmark (4), Andorra (5), the Netherlands (6) and France (7) are not too far behind. The UK (30) has Europe’s 19th fastest internet with an average speed of 110.99Mbps.
“The UK has lost some ground this past year against other Western European nations, and has on average slower broadband than the European average. Part of this has to do with relative speed of Full Fibre rollout across the UK. It continues apace, but we appear to be slower than some European rivals in this respect. Speedtest results however do not differentiate between differences in available speed versus take-up, so a slow descent in our European ranking here can also be a reflection of customers opting for slower speeds, or indeed superior marketing of Full Fibre deals on the part of our European neighbours.”
– Dan Howdle, Cable
In Asia, Macau (2) has the fastest internet with South Korea (9), Japan (21), Hong Kong (22), Taiwan (23) and Singapore (24) all performing well.
The US (10) has the fastest broadband in the Americas with an average speed of 161.97Mbps. Uruguay (12) is the region’s second-fastest with Canada (15) and Chile (36) in third and fourth respectively. Cuba (190) has the slowest internet in the Americas.
Africa is some distance behind the rest of the world when it comes to broadband provision. Thirty-one of the 50 slowest countries in the world are located in Africa. South Africa (91) has the fastest internet in Africa followed by Eswatini (97), Rwanda (102), Mauritius (103) and Botswana (105)
Countries with the fastest internet in Europe
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Denmark
- Andorra
- Netherlands
- France
- Monaco
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Spain
Countries with the fastest internet in Asia
- Macao
- South Korea
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- India
- Brunei
Countries with the fastest internet in Africa
- South Africa
- Eswatini
- Rwanda
- Mauritius
- Botswana
- Nigeria
- Madagascar
- Lesotho
- Seychelles
- Morocco
Countries with the fastest internet in the Americas
- Americas
- USA
- Uruguay
- Canada
- Chile
- Barbados
- Brazil
- Grenada
- Bahamas
- St Kitts & Nevis
- Trinidad & Tobago
Countries with the fastest internet in the Middle East
- Israel
- Qatar
- UAE
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Cyprus
- Jordan
- Saudi Arabia
- Turkey
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Complete rankings
The table below ranks countries by their average download speed in megabits per second (Mbps).
Some countries and territories have been excluded due to insufficient sample size.
Rank | Country | Mbps |
1 | Iceland | 279.55 |
2 | Macao | 234.74 |
3 | Liechtenstein | 222.98 |
4 | Denmark | 210.51 |
5 | Andorra | 199.89 |
6 | Netherlands | 188.49 |
7 | France | 176.97 |
8 | Monaco | 173.79 |
9 | South Korea | 172.53 |
10 | USA | 161.97 |
11 | Switzerland | 161.88 |
12 | Uruguay | 156.99 |
13 | Sweden | 156.42 |
14 | Israel | 153.61 |
15 | Canada | 152.25 |
16 | Spain | 148.63 |
17 | Slovakia | 145.19 |
18 | San Marino | 143.20 |
19 | Malta | 141.07 |
20 | Norway | 140.56 |
21 | Japan | 139.53 |
22 | Hong Kong | 138.18 |
23 | Taiwan | 136.58 |
24 | Singapore | 134.43 |
25 | Belgium | 124.78 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
26 | New Zealand | 124.01 |
27 | Portugal | 116.91 |
28 | Estonia | 113.10 |
29 | Hungary | 112.15 |
30 | UK | 110.99 |
31 | Lithuania | 110.74 |
32 | Romania | 105.46 |
33 | Poland | 104.36 |
34 | Ireland | 102.96 |
35 | Qatar | 101.72 |
36 | Chile | 100.66 |
37 | UAE | 99.26 |
38 | Barbados | 97.27 |
39 | Latvia | 95.50 |
40 | Finland | 95.13 |
41 | Brazil | 92.83 |
42 | Slovenia | 90.40 |
43 | Germany | 87.77 |
44 | Serbia | 86.36 |
45 | Malaysia | 82.38 |
46 | North Macedonia | 79.09 |
47 | Australia | 77.99 |
48 | Luxembourg | 76.64 |
49 | Czech Rep | 74.41 |
50 | Montenegro | 73.93 |
Rank | County | Mbps |
51 | Moldova | 73.84 |
52 | Greece | 72.54 |
53 | Grenada | 72.49 |
54 | Italy | 72.45 |
55 | Bahamas | 72.34 |
56 | St Kitts & Nevis | 71.96 |
57 | Thailand | 67.75 |
58 | Bulgaria | 67.47 |
59 | Russia | 67.43 |
60 | Bahrain | 67.16 |
61 | Trinidad & Tobago | 66.43 |
62 | India | 65.51 |
63 | Austria | 64.96 |
64 | Peru | 63.28 |
65 | Brunei | 62.61 |
66 | Panama | 62.43 |
67 | Jamaica | 62.13 |
68 | Argentina | 59.70 |
69 | Kuwait | 58.89 |
70 | Oman | 57.85 |
71 | Saint Lucia | 56.84 |
72 | Colombia | 53.87 |
73 | Costa Rica | 53.39 |
74 | Kosovo | 53.29 |
75 | St Vinc & Gren | 52.14 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
76 | Philippines | 52.07 |
77 | Vatican City | 51.60 |
78 | Cyprus | 51.53 |
79 | Ukraine | 49.39 |
80 | Anguilla | 49.23 |
81 | Dominican Rep | 48.05 |
82 | Dominica | 47.90 |
83 | Montserrat | 46.34 |
84 | Vietnam | 45.92 |
85 | Belarus | 45.81 |
86 | Ecuador | 45.54 |
87 | Bosnia & Herz | 45.51 |
88 | Paraguay | 45.10 |
89 | Mexico | 44.73 |
90 | Jordan | 42.46 |
91 | South Africa | 42.42 |
92 | Belize | 41.72 |
93 | Croatia | 38.52 |
94 | Saudi Arabia | 37.65 |
95 | China | 37.56 |
96 | Guatemala | 37.34 |
97 | Eswatini | 37.23 |
98 | El Salvador | 35.90 |
99 | Nicaragua | 33.85 |
100 | Antigua & Barbuda | 32.98 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
101 | Turkey | 32.89 |
102 | Rwanda | 32.69 |
103 | Mauritius | 31.12 |
104 | Albania | 29.87 |
105 | Botswana | 29.52 |
106 | Guyana | 28.57 |
107 | Nigeria | 27.62 |
108 | Maldives | 27.26 |
109 | Marshall Islands | 26.84 |
110 | Armenia | 26.78 |
111 | Nepal | 25.97 |
112 | Palestine | 25.20 |
113 | Laos | 25.14 |
114 | Cambodia | 24.54 |
115 | Venezuela | 23.33 |
116 | Madagascar | 22.57 |
117 | Honduras | 21.77 |
118 | Bhutan | 21.24 |
119 | Uzbekistan | 21.21 |
120 | Georgia | 20.83 |
121 | Lesotho | 20.71 |
122 | Bolivia | 20.14 |
123 | Seychelles | 20.09 |
124 | Morocco | 19.61 |
125 | Indonesia | 19.54 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
126 | Mongolia | 19.14 |
127 | Sri Lanka | 18.45 |
128 | Samoa | 17.82 |
129 | Ivory Coast | 17.67 |
130 | São Tomé & Príncipe | 17.45 |
131 | Zimbabwe | 16.77 |
132 | Ghana | 16.59 |
133 | Congo | 16.25 |
134 | Burkina Faso | 15.91 |
135 | Benin | 15.54 |
136 | Papua New Guinea | 15.52 |
137 | Gabon | 14.85 |
138 | Mayotte | 14.50 |
139 | Mozambique | 14.15 |
140 | Kazakhstan | 13.92 |
141 | Azerbaijan | 13.85 |
142 | Suriname | 13.79 |
143 | Kenya | 13.69 |
144 | Uganda | 13.59 |
145 | Fiji | 13.28 |
146 | Myanmar | 13.28 |
147 | Tanzania | 13.26 |
148 | Haiti | 13.21 |
149 | Malawi | 13.14 |
150 | DR Congo | 12.81 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
151 | Angola | 12.79 |
152 | Egypt | 12.64 |
153 | Liberia | 12.45 |
154 | Algeria | 12.35 |
155 | Senegal | 12.16 |
156 | Solomon Islands | 11.54 |
157 | Namibia | 11.48 |
158 | Cabo Verde | 11.44 |
159 | Kyrgyzstan | 11.31 |
160 | Tunisia | 11.18 |
161 | Mauritania | 10.94 |
162 | Togo | 10.54 |
163 | Chad | 10.47 |
164 | Iraq | 10.39 |
165 | Palau | 10.01 |
166 | Iran | 9.72 |
167 | Lebanon | 9.67 |
168 | Bangladesh | 9.22 |
169 | Zambia | 8.99 |
170 | Guinea | 8.55 |
171 | Comoros | 8.38 |
172 | Libya | 8.37 |
173 | Cameroon | 7.97 |
174 | Pakistan | 7.85 |
175 | Vanuatu | 7.67 |
Rank | Country | Mbps |
176 | Mali | 7.66 |
177 | South Sudan | 7.47 |
178 | Sierra Leone | 7.24 |
179 | Djibouti | 7.21 |
180 | Somalia | 6.64 |
181 | Burundi | 6.07 |
182 | Timor-Leste | 6.00 |
183 | Guinea-Bissau | 5.63 |
184 | Falkland Islands | 5.34 |
185 | Gambia | 5.33 |
186 | Micronesia | 5.32 |
187 | Equatorial Guinea | 5.27 |
188 | Niger | 4.97 |
189 | Eritrea | 4.61 |
190 | Cuba | 4.49 |
191 | Ethiopia | 4.45 |
192 | Central African Republic | 4.08 |
193 | Sudan | 4.02 |
194 | Afghanistan | 3.11 |
195 | Tajikistan | 3.10 |
196 | Yemen | 2.99 |
197 | Syria | 2.80 |
198 | Turkmenistan | 2.72 |
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