According to the fourth edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index, Portugal ranks 20th in terms of digital well-being. This is 92% of the world’s population, out of 117 countries. Portugal ranks 68th in the world for internet affordability, while e-security is 7th. Portugal’s internet quality service ranks 9th. E-government and electronic infrastructure rank 28th and 39th, respectively. Fixed broadband internet is becoming more affordable in the face of inflation for the second consecutive year, Portugal included.
Surfshark’s study assesses countries on five key digital wellbeing pillars. These are internet quality, egovernment, estructure, affordability, security, and internet security. Portugal ranks 20th globally in the final index, and 15th in Europe. Portugal has risen from 30th place to 20th in last year’s edition by ten places. Portugal’s weakest index pillar is internet affordability. It must improve by 2160% in order to match Israel’s best-ranking result.
Portugal’s internet quality is outstanding, and fixed broadband internet is more reliable than mobile on a global basis.
Portugal’s internet quality is 9th worldwide, based on internet speed, stability and growth. It is 47% higher than the global average. Portugal’s fixed broadband internet speeds are higher than those of mobile, with 169.5 Mbps/s (22nd globally) Mobile internet is 26th at 88.6Mbps/s.
Portugal’s mobile internet speed is comparable to that of the U.K. but broadband is two times faster. Mobile internet speeds in Portugal have increased by 70% (36.6 Mbps) and fixed broadband speeds by 12.7% (19.1Mbps) since last year. Singaporeans had mobile speeds of up to 104 Mb/s, and fixed speeds as high as 261 Mb/s. This is the fastest internet speed in the world.
Internet access in Portugal isn’t as affordable as global standards. However, there are still some improvements to be made.
Portugal ranks 68th for internet affordability in the world. Portugal’s residents can purchase 1GB of mobile Internet for just 10 minutes 21 seconds per month. This is 23 times more than the U.K., and 16 times more that in Spain. Portugal is 126 times more productive than Israel, which offers the most affordable mobile internet (5s per 1GB). The affordability of mobile internet has improved over the past year. People now work just 41 seconds to get the same service.
Portuguese citizens pay approximately 3 hours 50 minutes each month for fixed broadband. Portugal’s citizens must work 12 hours per month more than Israelis to afford fixed broadband. The most affordable package is only 19 minutes. Portugal has made broadband internet less affordable over the past year. This means that people have to work 45 minutes longer in order to afford fixed broadband internet.
The digital divide in the world is wider than ever before
Broadband is becoming less affordable every year globally. If you look at the countries that were included in last year’s index, it is evident that people will need to work six more minutes to be able to afford broadband internet by 2022. For the lowest fixed broadband internet package, some people have to work 2 weeks in countries like Uganda and Ivory Coast. Similar trends were observed last year. The current inflation has increased the demand for internet access by low-income households. Surfshark also found that the countries with the lowest internet connections have to work harder.
“Surfshark’s Head of PR Gabriele RacaityteKrasauske says that countries with high digital quality of living tend to be advanced economies. However, we found that money does not always buy digital happiness. According to Gabriele. that’s why they continue to analyze the Digital Quality of Life for the fourth consecutive year, in order to determine how different countries keep up with basic digital needs for their citizens. Their research aims to reveal the entire picture of the digital divide worldwide that millions of people are experiencing.
Digital quality of life determines which countries are the best and worst to live in.
The past three years have seen 7 of the 10 top-scoring countries be in Europe. DQL 2022 ranks Israel 1st, while Denmark is second. Germany is 3rd and France and Sweden are 4th. The bottom five countries are Congo DR (Denmark), Yemen, Ethiopia Mozambique, Cameroon, Cameroon, and Mozambique.
The US is the country that has the highest quality of digital life in Americas, while Israel holds the top spot in Asia. South Africa has the highest quality of digital life among African countries. New Zealand leads Oceania over Australia in several digital areas this year.
METHODOLOGY
The 2022 DQL research surveyed more than 7.2 million people about five core pillars as well as 14 underpinning indicators. This provides a comprehensive measure. This study was based on open-source data from the United Nations, Freedom House, World Bank, International Communications Union and other sources. The study this year includes seven more countries (6%) than DQL 2021. Most of these are African countries.
