Globally, the average webpage loads at 6.3 megabits a second — a number referring to how many million bits of data can be moved in a second. While 6.3 mbps is fast enough to watch a Netflix show or send an email, it’s still pretty slow. This is according to Massachusetts-based Internet provider Akami Technologies, which studied how Internet speeds stack up in countries around the world.
Every quarter, the company releases a report ranking countries by Internet speed. Here are the countries with the fastest Internet.
People in Finland use the Internet at 17.7 mbps on average, which is relatively fast. In 2010, the country’s Ministry of Transport and Communications offered every Finnish citizen at least a 1 mbps Internet connection. That’s not saying much: 1 mbps will only allow you to send emails at a snail’s pace, browse the web, and watch low-quality YouTube videos. It’s too slow to really download or upload large files.
The Internet in the Czech Republic loads 17.8 mbps on average, a 31% boost from last year. This speed is slightly above what most people in the US would consider average, letting you watch HD videos and surf the web without any kind of delay.
The Netherlands’ average Internet speed is 17.9 mbps. The country also boasts the highest percentage of households using the Internet in the EU, according to a 2014 report.
High-speed fiber optics (cables that enable faster internet) run throughout Japan, giving users an average Internet speed of 18.2 mbps. In other words, multiple people in a household can be on Netflix, playing video games, and browsing the web on different devices at the same time without any slowdowns.
Japan is one of several countries working on superfast 100 gbps Internet.
In the meantime, the Japanese provider So-net offers 2 gbps Internet — twice as fast as Google Fiber — making it the world’s fastest commercially available internet service.
Latvia’s average Internet speed is 18.3, which is nearly three times faster than the global average
The Internet in Switzerland zooms at an average 18.7 mbps, a 25% increase from last year.
Hong Kong was the first country in the world to reach 60 mbps in 2013. Today, its residents enjoy an average Internet speed of 19.9 mbps.
Sweden’s Internet races at an average of 20.6 mbps, meaning most people rarely experience delays even if they have multiple applications running that take up a lot of bandwidth. The country saw a 32% increase in speed since last year.
So where does Canada lie in regards to Internet speeds. Cybera discusses some stats and information on this criteria. According to Ookla, a global broadband testing firm, as of today, Canada’ s average household download speed is about 30 Mbps, with an upload speed of about 8 Mbps. The website ranks Canada as 33rd in the world index of Internet speeds. People visit this site to test the speed of their Internet connection. Therefore, the 30 Mbps is an average of the speeds Canadians reported through this website.
