[REPORT] Nigerians Overpay for Internet, Ranks 109th out of 117 Countries

The Global Internet Value Index released by Surfshark has revealed that Nigeria ranks 109th place in the world out of 117 countries, showing that internet users in the country pay a very high amount of money to access internet services.

The Global Internet Value Index (IVi) is calculated by dividing each country’s Internet speed by its internet affordability to determine which countries are overpaying for their internet.

In terms of regional position, Nigeria ranks 12th place in Sub-Saharan Africa, with its index 56% lower than Africa’s average. Countries like South Africa and Ghana rank 70th and 105th, respectively, both overpaying for the internet they get. Nigeria has a 90% lower index compared to South Africa and a 26% lower index compared to Ghana.

“Internet Value index offers to look at Internet connection from a practical perspective – whether we get what we pay for. Even economically affluent countries with relatively fast internet can overpay compared to others worldwide,” says Agneska Sablovskaja, Lead Researcher at Surfshark.

“However, some countries may have slower Internet but also pay a considerably lower price, which is considered fair.

Comparing internet value in Africa, 4 out of every 10 people can access the Internet at a fair price. South Africa remains the outright leader, with Egypt ranking second, followed by Morocco. While the top-ranking African country, South Africa, is part of the Sub-Saharan Africa subregion, the Northern Africa subregion performs better overall.

The average index of its 4 countries is 2 times higher than Sub-Saharan Africa’s. All Northern African countries have above-average internet value, while only 1 in 4 (26.3%) Sub-Saharan African countries do. Zimbabwe and Uganda are the lowest-ranking African countries, followed closely by Cameroon.

4 out of 10 people in Asia can access the Internet at a fair price compared to the rest of the region. Israel takes the lead in Asia with the best internet value index, followed by Singapore and South Korea.

78% of Europeans get their internet at fair prices. Denmark takes the lead in Europe with an index nearly four times higher than the European average, closely followed by France. The three lowest-ranking countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and North Macedonia, are all located in Southern Europe.

In North America, 7 out of every 10 individuals can access the internet at a fair price. The United States outperforms Canada regarding Internet value. None of the countries that form part of the Latin American and Caribbean subregion of North America have above-average Internet values.

59% of South Americans get their internet at a fair price. Chile is South America’s leader in internet value, followed by Uruguay and Brazil.
Oceania’s Internet Value Index is 2.5 times higher than the global average. Australia ranked fifth in the world, and New Zealand ranked 25th overall.