Global Internet Speed Report 2026: Every Country Ranked by DCSpeedTest Data

Top 20 Countries by Median Download Speed (Q1 2026)

Median download speed reflects the typical user experience — not the best-case infrastructure speeds that national averages can skew toward.

• #1 — Singapore: 312 Mbps median download. Dense urban fiber deployment with 99.6% fiber coverage nationwide. Consistently leads global rankings since 2021.
• #2 — South Korea: 287 Mbps. KT, SK Broadband, and LG Uplus competing fiercely in a highly urbanized market. Government mandated 10 Gbps rollout by 2027.
• #3 — Denmark: 264 Mbps. Denmark's fiber co-op model (open-access networks) produced widespread competition driving prices down and speeds up simultaneously.
• #4 — United Arab Emirates: 248 Mbps. Etisalat's mass FTTH deployment across Abu Dhabi and Dubai produced dramatic speed gains — up 41% from 2024.
• #5 — China: 241 Mbps. World's largest fiber network by total connections; rural/urban divide keeps median below theoretical maximum.
• #6 — United States: 198 Mbps. Up 23% from 2025 following BEAD program fiber deployments. Urban 1 Gbps fiber pulls median up; rural areas still average under 50 Mbps.
• #7 — Netherlands: 192 Mbps. KPN fiber expansion + municipal open access networks create a competitive environment unique in Western Europe.
• #8 — Sweden: 186 Mbps. Stokab (Stockholm's open-access fiber) model exported to 40+ Swedish cities in 2025.
• #9 — Romania: 181 Mbps. Romania consistently punches above its economic weight in internet speed due to high competition among local ISPs and dense urban fiber.
• #10 — Japan: 174 Mbps. NTT's FTTH coverage is near-universal in urban areas but rural mountain regions drag median below South Korea's level.

The 10 Slowest Countries (Median Download)

• Afghanistan: 3.2 Mbps | South Sudan: 3.8 Mbps | Central African Republic: 4.1 Mbps | Turkmenistan: 4.7 Mbps | Yemen: 5.1 Mbps | Equatorial Guinea: 5.4 Mbps | Cuba: 5.8 Mbps | Eritrea: 6.1 Mbps | Somalia: 6.4 Mbps | Democratic Republic of the Congo: 6.9 Mbps

Biggest Year-over-Year Improvements

• Saudi Arabia: +68% (STC Vision 2030 fiber rollout accelerated in 2025)
• Brazil: +44% (ANATEL broadband universalization fund, rural fiber expansion)
• Egypt: +39% (Telecom Egypt FTTH mass rollout in Cairo and Alexandria)
• India: +35% (Reliance Jio's fiber-to-home aggressively expanded after 5G launch subsidized home broadband)