Ireland drops one place to 23rd in global survey on digital capabilities

Ireland has dropped one place to 23rd in the world in a global survey on digital capabilities.

Surfshark’s fifth annual Digital Quality of Life Index found Ireland performed best in e-security, claiming 20th place, while it faced challenges in internet affordability, ranking 44th. It ranked 22nd in e-infrastructure, 26th in e-government, and 36th in internet quality.

In the overall Index, Ireland lagged behind the UK (15th) and the US (19th). Overall, European countries lead the world in their digital quality of life, Ireland taking 17th place in the region.

“In many nations, digital quality of life has merged into the broader concept of overall quality of life,” said Surfshark spokeswoman Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske.

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“There’s no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education, and leisure, are done online.”

Ireland’s internet quality is 16 per cent higher than the global average. Fixed internet averages 149 Mbps compared to 300 Mbps in Singapore’s – the world’s fastest – and 11 Mbps in Yemen, the world’s slowest.

Mobile internet averages 78 Mbps in Ireland compared to 310 Mbps in the UAE and 10 Mbps in Venezuela.

Since last year, mobile internet speed in Ireland has improved by 23 per cent, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 19 per cent. Compared to the United Kingdom, Ireland’s mobile internet is 22 per cent slower, while fixed broadband is 5 per cent faster.

The internet is affordable in Ireland compared to other countries. The Irish have to work 1 hour 23 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. While this is less than average, it is five times more than in Romania, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet.

The Irish have to work 1 hour 13 minutes 54 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is five times more than in Luxembourg, which has the world’s most affordable.

Ireland was 20th in the world in e-security, climbing five places higher than last year. The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime, as well as how advanced a country’s data protection laws are.

In this pillar, Ireland outperformed the UK (23rd) and the US (43rd). “Ireland is prepared to fight against cybercrime, and since it is a member of the EU and subject to the GDPR, the country has excellent data protection laws,” the report said.

Ireland was ranked 22nd in e-infrastructure and 26th in e-government. Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, and shopping.

This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country, as well as its network readiness. Ireland’s internet penetration is high (92 per cent, or 32nd in the world), and the country ranks 20th in network readiness.

The e-government pillar shows how advanced a government’s digital services are and the level of artificial intelligence readiness a country demonstrates. Ireland’s e-government is above the global average.