As of August 2024, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had the fastest average fixed broadband internet speed worldwide, with an average of 297.62 Mbps. Singapore ranked a close second at 297.57 Mbps, while Hong Kong followed in third. Fixed internet connections deliver broadband to a home, office, or other fixed location, with fiber connections offering the best quality service.

As of June 2024, Qatar had the fastest average mobile internet connection worldwide, nearly 335 Mbps. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) followed, registering average median speed above 323 Mbps. Fixed-connection speeds around the world When it comes to fixed broadband connections, Singapore tops the list of countries by average connection speed. Internet users in Singapore achieve an average fixed broadband connection speed of 242.01 Mbps, slightly faster than the 222.49 Mbps achieved in Chile, the second-placed country on the speed rankings. 5G and 6G – the future of mobile broadband In countries where it is in use, 5G is already bringing faster mobile internet connection speeds than ever before. In Saudi Arabia for example, the average 4G connection speed sits at 28.9 Mbps, and this speed jumps to 414.2 Mbps on a 5G connection. Now that 5G is commercially available, researchers have already turned their attention to 6G. Operating at a higher spectrum band, 6G will allow connections several times faster than 5G. User experienced data rates of 5G sit at 100 Mbps, and this speed is expected to climb to 1,000 Mbps on 6G connections. 6G is expected to not only provide faster speeds, but also enable more devices to connect to a network without causing congestion as it has a connection density ten times greater than that of 5G.

As of February 2025, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates ed the ranking of countries with the highest internet penetration rate, all recording 99 percent. The worldwide internet penetration rate as of October 2024 was 67.5 percent. Most connected regions According to the most recent observations, Northern Europe ranked first among global regions by internet penetration rate. The share of the population accessing the internet in this region was over 97 percent. Northern America ranked second, followed by Western Europe. Overall, the internet reach was higher than 80 percent across all European regions, as well as Northern and Southern parts of America. Unconnected populations Despite having the biggest online audiences worldwide, India and China are also the markets with the highest number of individuals not connected to the web. Regarding the share of population without internet access in worldwide markets, North Korea ranks first, as the internet in the country remains blocked for most of the general public as of April 2024. Central African Republic had 89.4 percent of its population unconnected, followed by Burundi, with 88.7 percent.

The statistic shows the countries with the highest average internet connection speed during the first quarter of 2017, measured in Megabits per second. During that quarter, IPv4 internet connections in Norway averaged a connection speed of 23.5 Mbps. The global average IPv4 connection speed was 7.2 Mbps.

Average connection speeds are higher in developed Asian countries; South Korea leads with an average connection speed of 28.6 Mbps. This is a growth of more than 9.3 percent to the first quarter of the previous year.

The U.S. states with the highest average internet connection speed include Delaware, District of Columbia and Utah, with first-ranking D.C. having an average connection speed of some 28.1 Mbps as of the first quarter of 2017.

As of the same period, 83 percent of internet users in South Korea enjoyed a connection speed of over 10 Mbps, which is classed as high broadband connectivity. Next in the 10 Mbps broadband adoption rate ranking are Switzerland and the Singapore with 73 percent of high broadband connectivity each. Both Switzerland and Singapore's relatively small size combined with their wealth are a significant factor in terms of telecommunications infrastructure upgrades.

Up until the beginning of 2014, average connection speeds worldwide were under 4 Mbps and by the fourth quarter of 2016, global connection speed averaged at 7 Mbps.

This dataset provides values for INTERNET SPEED reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

As of March 2025, Singapore had the fastest fixed broadband internet worldwide, with an average download speed of 345.33 Mbps. The UAE ranked second at 313.55 Mbps, while Hong Kong followed in third. Fixed internet connections deliver broadband to a home, office, or other fixed premises, with fiber connections offering the best quality service.

The statistic shows the average download speed of broadband internet in Caribbean countries as of June 2023, measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). In that period of time, the Cayman Islands had the highest broadband internet speed in the Caribbean, with an average download speed of over 125 Mbps.

The statistic presents the average download speed of broadband internet in Latin American countries from July 2023 to June 2024 measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). In that period of time, Uruguay presented the highest broadband internet speed in Latin America, with an average download speed of over 111 Mbps.

An analysis of average internet speeds across U.S. states in 2023, highlighting the fastest and slowest regions.

Within the Asia Pacific region, South Korea had the highest average IPv4 internet connection speed at 28.6 megabits per second (Mbps). Considering this, it comes as no surprise that South Korea also had the highest internet penetration rate and the highest 4G download speed  across Asia. This was due to governmental efforts to facilitate the expansion and improvement of internet. 

Current state of internet in Asia 

Although Singapore had the third-fastest average IPv4 connection speed as of 2017, in 2018, it nonetheless had the fastest internet overall with a mean download speed of 60.39 Mbps, surpassing larger countries such as the U.S. and Germany.  Although India and the Philippines had the lowest average internet connection speeds, its year-on-year growth was higher than the leading countries with respectively 87% and 57%. In the Philippines, the government carried out a National Broadband Plan (NBP) to increase nationwide internet access. Similarly, the Indian government had also proposed a national broadband network to connect all cities and villages. 

Internet connection speed explained 

Megabits per second (Mbps) refer to the speed with which information can be downloaded or uploaded from and to the internet. For the Federal Communications Commission, a sufficient broadband internet connection requires a minimum of 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. In the world of internet, connection speeds above 20 Mbps enable swift web surfing, HD content streaming as well as fast downloads. 

This dataset provides values for INTERNET SPEED reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

China Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Rural data was reported at 65.600 % in Dec 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 63.800 % for Jun 2024. China Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Rural data is updated semiannually, averaging 35.950 % from Dec 2007 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.500 % in Dec 2023 and a record low of 7.400 % in Dec 2007. China Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Rural data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by China Internet Network Information Center. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Information and Communication Sector – Table CN.ICE: Internet: Internet Market Size. Affected by the COVID-19, the data cut-off time for the 2019 is March 2020.

This statistic shows a ranking of the estimated average internet connection speed in 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), differentiated by country. The speed refers to a weighted average of fixed- and mobile broadband connection speeds. Fixed-broadband connections are weighted with the household size in the selected region to account for the fact that these connections are usually shared by multiple household members.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Shanghai data was reported at 74.100 % in Dec 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 73.100 % for Dec 2015. Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Shanghai data is updated semiannually, averaging 63.250 % from Dec 2003 (Median) to Dec 2016, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 74.100 % in Dec 2016 and a record low of 25.800 % in Dec 2004. Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Shanghai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by China Internet Network Information Center. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Information and Communication Sector – Table CN.ICE: Internet: Number of Internet User and Penetration Rate.

Hong Kong SAR (China) Internet Users: Est. Registered Accounts with Broadband: Household: Downstream Speed: Between 1Mbps and 100Mbps data was reported at 380.360 Unit th in Nov 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 384.061 Unit th for Oct 2019. Hong Kong SAR (China) Internet Users: Est. Registered Accounts with Broadband: Household: Downstream Speed: Between 1Mbps and 100Mbps data is updated monthly, averaging 400.977 Unit th from Jan 2019 (Median) to Nov 2019, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 419.057 Unit th in Jan 2019 and a record low of 380.360 Unit th in Nov 2019. Hong Kong SAR (China) Internet Users: Est. Registered Accounts with Broadband: Household: Downstream Speed: Between 1Mbps and 100Mbps data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Communications Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong SAR (China) – Table HK.TB004: Internet Statistics: Office of the Telecommunication Authority.

South Korea is one of the best connected countries worldwide, with around 97.4 percent of its population using the internet. In addition, South Korea was among the countries with the highest average mobile internet connection speed worldwide.

China Internet Service: Usage Rate: Online Fitness data was reported at 35.600 % in Dec 2022. China Internet Service: Usage Rate: Online Fitness data is updated semiannually, averaging 35.600 % from Dec 2022 (Median) to Dec 2022, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35.600 % in Dec 2022 and a record low of 35.600 % in Dec 2022. China Internet Service: Usage Rate: Online Fitness data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by China Internet Network Information Center. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Information and Communication Sector – Table CN.ICE: Internet: Purpose of Internet Usage.

It comes as no surprise that the largest social network in Singapore is the messenger app WhatsApp and the social media giant Facebook. With Singapore home to one of the fastest internet connection speed in the world, the convenience of using these social networks on a daily basis has driven the growth of online content.

There are over 5.3 million social media users in Singapore

As of 2023, Singapore’s population has reached over six million people. These are, however, on an island with an area of only 719.9 square kilometer. The high technological standard has led to the internet penetration being extraordinarily high compared to other Southeast Asian countries. A high Internet penetration rate is usually a first indication that social media has a great importance for the country too. In this case the general number of social media users amounted to 5.08 million people, reaching 84.7 percent of the population. While WhatsApp is still the most popular social media channel in Singapore, it seems like Facebook is currently losing their younger users. Young Singaporean social media users would instead be flocking to Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.

As of November 2024, the median download speed of fixed internet in Singapore was about 324.46 Mbps, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong followed with a fixed internet median download speed of approximately 302.04 Mbps.

Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Zhejiang data was reported at 65.600 % in Dec 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 65.300 % for Dec 2015. Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Zhejiang data is updated semiannually, averaging 50.850 % from Dec 2003 (Median) to Dec 2016, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 65.600 % in Dec 2016 and a record low of 9.700 % in Dec 2003. Internet Service: Internet Penetration Rate: Zhejiang data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by China Internet Network Information Center. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Information and Communication Sector – Table CN.ICE: Internet: Number of Internet User and Penetration Rate.