Surfshark’s 5th annual Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) ranks Kuwait 63rd in the world. Out of the Index’s 5 pillars, Kuwait performed best in internet quality, claiming 26th place, while facing challenges in e-security, ranking 104th. The nation ranks 35th in internet affordability, 45th in e-infrastructure, and 66th in egovernment.

In the overall Index, Kuwait lags behind Saudi Arabia (45th) and Qatar (48th). In Asia, Kuwait takes 19th place, with Singapore the leader in the region. “In many nations, ‘digital quality of life’ has merged into the broader concept of overall ‘quality of life’. There’s no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education, and leisure, are done online. That’s why it’s crucial to pinpoint the areas in which a nation’s digital quality of life thrives and where attention is needed, which is the precise purpose of the DQL Index”, says Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark’s spokeswoman. Kuwait’s internet quality is 21% higher than the global average.

■ Fixed internet averages 179 Mbps in Kuwait. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed internet – Singapore’s – is 300 Mbps. Meanwhile, the slowest fixed internet in the world – Yemen’s – is 11 Mbps.
■ Mobile internet averages 210 Mbps. The fastest mobile internet – the UAE’s – is 310 Mbps, while the world’s slowest mobile internet – Venezuela’s – is 10 Mbps. Compared to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait’s mobile internet is 15% faster, while fixed broadband is 63% faster. The internet is affordable in Kuwait compared to other countries.
■ Kuwaitis have to work 59 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. While this is less than average, it is 3 times more than in Romania, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet (Romanians have to work 18 minutes a month to afford it).
■ Kuwaitis have to work 1 hour 22 minutes 36 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is 5 times more than in Luxembourg, which has the world’s most affordable mobile internet (Luxembourgers have to work 16 minutes a month to afford it). Kuwait is 104th in the world in e-security. 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, Kuwait lags behind Saudi Arabia (42nd) and Qatar (67th). Kuwait is unprepared to fight against cybercrime, the country has no data protection laws. Kuwait is 45th in e-infrastructure and 66th in e-government. Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, shopping, etc. This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country, as well as its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies). Kuwait’s internet penetration is high (99% – 6th in the world), and the country ranks 61st in network readiness.

The e-government pillar shows how advanced a government’s digital services are and the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Kuwait’s e-government is similar to the global average. Globally, the internet is more affordable than last year.
■ Fixed internet is 11% more affordable than last year – on average, people have to work 42 minutes less a month to afford it.
■ Mobile internet is 26% more affordable than last year – people have to work 41 minutes less to afford it.

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