Namibia has been ranked 103 out of 114 countries globally, according to the 2022 edition of the digital quality of life survey compiled annually by the virtual private network provider Surfshark.
The report is conducted after considering five ‘fundamental digital wellbeing pillars’: internet quality, e-government, e-infrastructure, internet affordability, and e-security.
Namibia dropped in all five pillars used to rank a country, with the highest drop recorded in internet quality, which declined to 104th position from 62nd prior year, with broadband speeds having recorded the biggest decline over the period.
The country’s ranking on internet affordability declined to 96th place globally from 62nd prior year, while its electronic infrastructure ranking eased 5 places to 101 positions in 2022, with electronic security marginally down over the period under review. In Africa Namibia is ranked 14th in Africa out of 23 countries.
Israel was ranked first globally, while Denmark, Germany, France and Sweden made up the rest of the top five.
The global top 10 also includes the Netherlands, Finland, and Great Britain, meaning seven of the top 10 are European countries. Japan (ranked eighth globally) and South Korea (ranked 10) were, along with Israel, the only non-European countries in the top tier.
At the bottom of the rankings for Europe are Bosnia and Herzegovina (80th globally), Montenegro (75th globally), and Belarus (69th globally).
The annual survey, now in its fourth year, evaluates 117 countries based on a set of five “pillars” and 14 indicators such as internet speed, GDP per capita, mobile internet price and broadband internet price.
The study is based on open-source information provided by the United Nations, World Bank, Freedom House, International Communications Union and other sources.
