Taking the Pulse of the Internet

An Analysis of Global Internet Speeds in 2024

There are an estimated 8.1 billion people on Earth. Two out of every three people have internet access. But not all people, in all locations, have the same quality of internet. Geography is a discipline of variation, and this is especially true of internet speeds across the world.

The Geography of Us

Earth's 8.1 billion people live on nearly every continent (small numbers of people visit and work in Antarctica).

NASA's  Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center  (SEDAC) provides estimates on global population counts.

China is the most populated country in the world with 1.42 billion people. Only India comes close with 1.41 billion.

The United States, with only 336 million people, comes in a distant third.

Where people live, and the quality of their internet connections (as determined by upload or download speeds) are related. But having more more people does not always mean a country has more access to infrastructure, like the internet.

There are also differences in internet speeds between network types (such as WiFi) and cellular LTE/5G networks. These, too, vary geographically.

The Geography of Speed

 Ookla LLC  is a connections and cyber intelligence company behind the popular  SpeedTest.net  tool. In addition to providing users throughout the world with insight into their own connection quality, they also record, analyze, and make available a  wealth of data .

We've used this data to explore variations in global internet speeds.

Ookla analyzes data in two categories: fixed and mobile.

Fixed connections include non-cellular networks, like WiFi and Ethernet.

Mobile connections are those that rely on cellular services like LTE, 5G, and similar.

This map shows the average download speeds for fixed (non-cellular) connections in Q2 of 2024.

Each hexagon represents an area of 25,000 square kilometers.

Difference in download speeds are immediately obvious at the country level. The US, Iceland, Portugal, France, China, Chile, and Thailand stand out with some of the highest download speeds approaching or exceeding 300 Mbps.

But more than a billion people in India are subject to download speeds that are, on average, less than a third of that.

These maps compare fixed (WiFi, Ethernet) download speeds to mobile (LTE, 5G, etc) download speeds. Use the swipe control to make comparisons.

While India lacks the infrastructure for fast, fixed internet speeds, their mobile network reveals a different scenario.

Other countries, like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, also show higher mobile than fixed download speeds.

Regional Variations in Quality

Download speeds are just one aspect of internet quality. Upload speeds and general latency are also key parameters. After all, sharing information and communicating online requires both receiving and sending content.

One way we can encapsulate and simplify internet quality is to look at the overall speed and and similarity between downloads and uploads, and whether or not this metric differs between fixed and mobile connections. An area with high upload and download speeds, with little variation between fixed or mobile, could be said to have higher quality internet than an area with high download speeds, low upload speeds, and a big difference between fixed and mobile connections.

This analysis shows clear regional differences across the globe.

Areas like much of China, Japan, South Korea, western Europe, and New Zealand have high quality internet for both network types.

In contrast, Iran, India, Indonesia, and South Africa are dominated by high quality mobile networks.

The United States and Mexico show clear differences, with the former having higher quality internet across both types. Mexico leans toward a network with mid-tier mobile quality, with scattered pockets excelling in their WiFi and ethernet connections.

Despite being a single country, Australia demonstrates a dichotomy of connection performance. The interior relies on high quality fixed connections, while the coasts—particularly the east and southeast—see better quality on mobile networks.

As technologies, infrastructure, and access change, these metrics will also change. Humans are more connected to one another than ever before and a trend toward increased connectedness is likely to continue for the foreseable future.