South Africa leads Africa in Digital Quality of Life
South Africa is ranked 68th in the world out of 110
countries and first in Africa in the Digital Quality of Life Index 2021.
The global
digital wellbeing study showed that South Africa dropped down by nine places in
the global ranking since last year. It, however, surpassed Kenya and Morocco to
claim the first spot in Africa.
The second highest-ranked
African country was Mauritius with a ranking index of 0.48. The index puts the
country in 74th place globally.
The third annual edition of
the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) covered 90 percent of the global
population. It was conducted by the cybersecurity company Surfshark and
evaluated countries based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing
pillars.
South Africa showed better results than the global average
in internet affordability at 26th but ranked comparatively lower in internet
quality at 57th, e-security at 85th, e-infrastructure at 87th and e-government
at 57th.
The country showed excellent improvement in the internet
affordability pillar. South Africa’s index grew by 32 percent compared to last
year, and it was now approximately 30 percent better than the global average.
According to the report’s findings, people
have to work 11 percent longer (25 minutes more) in 2021 to afford broadband
internet. However, they have to work 29% less (28 minutes less) to be able to
afford mobile internet.
The world’s worst internet is also the most expensive. In some
countries, such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali, a week’s worth of labor is
required to afford the internet.
The most effective way to improve people’s digital well-being is
to invest in electronic infrastructure and electronic government.
The study is based on
open-source information provided by the United Nations, the World Bank, Freedom
House, the International Communications Union, and other sources.
