Mobile Internet Speed by Country
In 2024, the number of internet users worldwide is set to rise by 1.8%, to 5.35 billion. With traffic from mobile devices making up an increasingly larger share of total traffic, there’s no question ecommerce business owners need to start marketing to mobile users, if they aren’t already doing so.
Excelling in mobile commerce first requires a good understanding of internet speeds, which vary from country to country. For instance, Singapore currently tops the list ranking average fixed internet speeds by country, followed by Chile. What about mobile internet speeds? In this post, we dive into the ranking of mobile internet speed by country to understand where users are enjoying the fastest internet in the world on their mobile devices.
Mobile internet speed by country: Table
|
Country |
Median internet download speed via mobile connections (in Mbps) |
|
1. Qatar |
286.42 |
|
2. United Arab Emirates |
284.21 |
|
3. Kuwait |
216.96 |
|
4. South Korea |
173.95 |
|
5. Denmark |
157.94 |
|
6. China |
144.85 |
|
7. Norway |
141.4 |
|
8. Netherlands |
134.15 |
|
9. Saudi Arabia |
125.19 |
|
10. United States |
122.74 |
Fastest internet in the world: mobile connections
According to the latest study comparing mobile internet speed by country, Qatar currently tops the ranking. With a median download speed of 286.42 Mbps (megabits per second), users in Qatar can download a one-gigabyte file in less than four seconds on their mobile devices.
Two other Middle Eastern countries, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, are second and third on this ranking of mobile internet speed by country, with average download speeds of 284.21 Mbps and 216.96 Mbps, respectively. It’s worth noting that these are the only countries whose median mobile internet download speeds exceed 200 Mbps. The UAE also has the fourth-fastest fixed internet download speed.
South Korea follows in fourth place, with 173.95 Mbps, and Denmark rounds out the five countries with the fastest internet in the world on mobile devices.
China, with close to 1.1 billion mobile internet users and more than $3 trillion in ecommerce sales in 2023, has the sixth fastest mobile internet speed, with 144.85 Mbps. It is followed by Norway and the Netherlands, with mobile download speeds of 141.4 Mbps and 134.15 Mbps, respectively.
Boasting a quick download speed of 125.19 Mbps on mobile phones, Saudi Arabia is in ninth place. The United States completes the list ranking mobile internet speeds by country, with 122.74 Mbps.
Mobile internet speed by country: Bottom five
|
Country |
Median internet download speed via mobile connections (in Mbps) |
|
150. Tajikistan |
8.14 |
|
151. Sudan |
7.50 |
|
152. Afghanistan |
5.07 |
|
153. Cuba |
3.83 |
|
154. Timor-Leste |
3.34 |
On the other end of the spectrum, the country with the fifth-slowest mobile internet speed is Tajikistan. Its average download speed on mobile devices is just 8.14 Mbps. Sudan and Afghanistan also have slow speeds, at 7.5 Mbps and 5.07 Mbps respectively.
With mobile internet speeds below 4 Mbps, Cuba and Timor-Leste have the slowest download speeds worldwide. This is a mere fraction of Qatar’s speed, the country with the fastest internet in the world on mobiles. Consequently, it would take a mobile user in Timor-Leste 85 times longer to download the same file as a user in Qatar.