Nigeria has become the seventh-fastest country in Sub-Saharan Africa for internet speed, with an average download speed of 27.62 Mbps. This is according to the 2024 Worldwide Broadband Speed Report published on Tuesday.
The report, which tested internet speeds in 220 countries, shows that Nigeria climbed from 133rd in the world rankings in 2023 to 132nd in 2024.
In Africa, Nigeria ranks seventh, following the likes of Réunion and Eswatini. Réunion leads Sub-Saharan Africa with an average internet speed of 63.29 Mbps, while South Africa comes in second with 42.42 Mbps.
The survey also indicates that Africa has the second-lowest average internet speed worldwide, with an average speed of 14.99 Mbps.
“50 countries were measured in the second-slowest region Sub-Saharan Africa, which averaged a download speed of 14.99Mbps overall. All but two of the countries found themselves in the slowest half of the league table.
“Going against the trend somewhat were Réunion (63.29Mbps, 75th), South Africa (42.42Mbps, 114th), and Eswatini (37.23Mbps, 120th). Meanwhile, Sudan (4.02Mbps, 223rd), Central African Republic (4.08Mbps, 222nd), and Ethiopia (4.45Mbps, 221st) all fell among the slowest ten countries in the world for average network speed,” the report noted.
According to the report, Iceland boasts the world’s fastest broadband with an impressive 1.5 billion broadband speed tests globally. Following Iceland, Jersey, located in western Europe, secures second place with 273.51 Mbps, while Macao in Asia ranks third with 234.74 Mbps.
The report highlights that 35 countries failed to achieve average speeds of 10 Mbps or higher, the minimum requirement to meet typical family or small business needs, as defined by UK telecom watchdog Ofcom.
The recent increase in internet speed in Nigeria may be attributed to the introduction of 5G technology by MTN and Airtel. However, 5G availability remains limited to major cities.
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