Different priorities are emerging as nations struggle with having enough resources and money to improve their digital welfare. Here’s the list of world’s highest digital quality of life.
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In the twenty-first century, life and work are more and more dependent on contemporary technology, with a nation’s level of digital development having a significant impact on its citizens’ daily lives.
Some nations thrive at providing affordable internet access, while others have more advanced digital infrastructure and pertinent laws. Additionally, as Omri Wallach of Visual Capitalist explains below, many parts of the world suffer from a general lack of digital infrastructure and access.
Based on information from the UN, World Bank, Freedom House, and International Communications Union, Surfshark’s 2022 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) examines each nation’s level of digital well-being.
5 Metrics for Measuring Digital Wellbeing
The DQL Index includes data from 117 nations, accounting for 92% of the global population. Each country is graded based on five pillars:
- Internet Affordability—How much time people have to work to afford a stable internet connection.
- Internet Quality—How fast and stable the internet connectivity in a country is and how well it’s improving.
- Electronic Infrastructure—How well developed and inclusive a country’s existing electronic infrastructure is.
- Electronic Security—How safe and protected people feel in a country.
- Electronic Government—How advanced and digitized a country’s government services are.
Visualizing The World’s Digital Quality of Life
Overall, the digital quality of life rankings in 2022 were headed by Europe and Asia. With an extraordinarily high score in internet affordability, Israel got first place. The nations are listed below, together with their weighted scores for each category, in order of rankings:
Rank | Country | Affordability | Quality | E-infrastructure | E-security | E-government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Israel | 0.1917 | 0.0981 | 0.1668 | 0.1503 | 0.1541 |
2 | Denmark | 0.047 | 0.1186 | 0.1968 | 0.1878 | 0.1844 |
3 | Germany | 0.0718 | 0.0926 | 0.1922 | 0.1946 | 0.1612 |
4 | France | 0.0534 | 0.111 | 0.1834 | 0.1878 | 0.1749 |
5 | Sweden | 0.0213 | 0.1059 | 0.1958 | 0.1878 | 0.1787 |
6 | Netherlands | 0.0241 | 0.0985 | 0.1956 | 0.1865 | 0.1796 |
7 | Finland | 0.0171 | 0.0973 | 0.192 | 0.1892 | 0.1869 |
8 | Japan | 0.0684 | 0.1024 | 0.1846 | 0.1462 | 0.177 |
9 | U.K. | 0.0413 | 0.0898 | 0.1882 | 0.1611 | 0.188 |
10 | South Korea | 0.0252 | 0.1139 | 0.1884 | 0.1516 | 0.1868 |
11 | Lithuania | 0.0508 | 0.087 | 0.1705 | 0.1973 | 0.1592 |
12 | U.S. | 0.0326 | 0.113 | 0.1944 | 0.1224 | 0.1947 |
13 | Switzerland | 0.0337 | 0.1114 | 0.1914 | 0.1597 | 0.1607 |
14 | Estonia | 0.0219 | 0.0759 | 0.1852 | 0.1946 | 0.1779 |
15 | Singapore | 0.0717 | 0.1134 | 0.1852 | 0.0943 | 0.19 |
16 | Spain | 0.0257 | 0.0924 | 0.1777 | 0.1919 | 0.1656 |
17 | Norway | 0.0136 | 0.0923 | 0.194 | 0.1649 | 0.174 |
18 | Luxembourg | 0.0272 | 0.0911 | 0.1878 | 0.1689 | 0.1597 |
19 | Italy | 0.0362 | 0.082 | 0.1733 | 0.1824 | 0.159 |
20 | Portugal | 0.0085 | 0.1101 | 0.1576 | 0.1932 | 0.1565 |
21 | Belgium | 0.0162 | 0.0868 | 0.1823 | 0.1973 | 0.1409 |
22 | Austria | 0.0279 | 0.0717 | 0.1782 | 0.1716 | 0.1719 |
23 | Poland | 0.0242 | 0.0869 | 0.1566 | 0.1905 | 0.1568 |
24 | Ireland | 0.0217 | 0.0874 | 0.1799 | 0.1662 | 0.1596 |
25 | Czechia | 0.023 | 0.0755 | 0.1707 | 0.196 | 0.1472 |
26 | Canada | 0.0228 | 0.0967 | 0.1831 | 0.1289 | 0.1723 |
27 | Hungary | 0.0206 | 0.1046 | 0.1647 | 0.1676 | 0.1425 |
28 | New Zealand | 0.0166 | 0.1027 | 0.1731 | 0.1341 | 0.1702 |
29 | Slovakia | 0.0233 | 0.0807 | 0.161 | 0.1865 | 0.1417 |
30 | Bulgaria | 0.0308 | 0.1025 | 0.1352 | 0.177 | 0.1452 |
31 | Croatia | 0.0133 | 0.0911 | 0.1625 | 0.1865 | 0.1346 |
32 | Slovenia | 0.0102 | 0.0934 | 0.1619 | 0.1622 | 0.1591 |
33 | Latvia | 0.0235 | 0.0918 | 0.1628 | 0.1784 | 0.1289 |
34 | Romania | 0.0299 | 0.105 | 0.1427 | 0.1743 | 0.1327 |
35 | Australia | 0.0453 | 0.0706 | 0.1755 | 0.1089 | 0.1802 |
36 | Malta | 0.0104 | 0.093 | 0.1639 | 0.1527 | 0.1547 |
37 | Cyprus | 0.0139 | 0.0718 | 0.1589 | 0.1689 | 0.1548 |
38 | Malaysia | 0.0319 | 0.0838 | 0.1636 | 0.1224 | 0.1561 |
39 | Greece | 0.0085 | 0.0713 | 0.142 | 0.2 | 0.1344 |
40 | Chile | 0.0251 | 0.1202 | 0.1469 | 0.1022 | 0.1538 |
41 | Uruguay | 0.0051 | 0.1054 | 0.1569 | 0.13 | 0.1498 |
42 | Russia | 0.0556 | 0.0794 | 0.1512 | 0.0943 | 0.152 |
43 | China | 0.0241 | 0.1045 | 0.1485 | 0.0741 | 0.175 |
44 | U.A.E. | 0.0071 | 0.1148 | 0.1779 | 0.0419 | 0.1712 |
45 | Argentina | 0.0073 | 0.0694 | 0.1575 | 0.13 | 0.1464 |
46 | Qatar | 0.0077 | 0.1077 | 0.1705 | 0.0808 | 0.1421 |
47 | Armenia | 0.1009 | 0.07 | 0.1356 | 0.0765 | 0.1221 |
48 | Serbia | 0.0184 | 0.0739 | 0.1387 | 0.1238 | 0.1429 |
49 | Thailand | 0.0081 | 0.1045 | 0.151 | 0.0876 | 0.1391 |
50 | Ukraine | 0.0259 | 0.0581 | 0.1613 | 0.1184 | 0.1256 |
51 | Saudi Arabia | 0.0057 | 0.0873 | 0.1635 | 0.0865 | 0.1408 |
52 | Turkey | 0.0153 | 0.0679 | 0.1526 | 0.0968 | 0.1488 |
53 | Brazil | 0.0078 | 0.0884 | 0.1388 | 0.0686 | 0.1558 |
54 | Moldova | 0.0357 | 0.0687 | 0.1359 | 0.0927 | 0.1226 |
55 | Philippines | 0.0044 | 0.0779 | 0.1371 | 0.1062 | 0.1265 |
56 | Bahrain | 0.0084 | 0.0878 | 0.166 | 0.047 | 0.1396 |
57 | Colombia | 0.0051 | 0.0775 | 0.1248 | 0.0954 | 0.1433 |
58 | Costa Rica | 0.0042 | 0.0721 | 0.1523 | 0.0954 | 0.1206 |
59 | India | 0.0266 | 0.071 | 0.1149 | 0.0822 | 0.1489 |
60 | N. Macedonia | 0.0095 | 0.0684 | 0.1409 | 0.0981 | 0.1237 |
61 | Kazakhstan | 0.0185 | 0.0639 | 0.1408 | 0.07 | 0.1473 |
62 | Mexico | 0.0111 | 0.0688 | 0.1291 | 0.0792 | 0.142 |
63 | Paraguay | 0.0091 | 0.0724 | 0.1424 | 0.0862 | 0.113 |
64 | Albania | 0.0087 | 0.0567 | 0.1313 | 0.09 | 0.1328 |
65 | Oman | 0.0053 | 0.065 | 0.1455 | 0.0473 | 0.1502 |
66 | South Africa | 0.0198 | 0.0689 | 0.1171 | 0.0778 | 0.1294 |
67 | Georgia | 0.0097 | 0.0577 | 0.1408 | 0.0941 | 0.1103 |
68 | Mauritius | 0.0149 | 0.0459 | 0.1311 | 0.09 | 0.1298 |
69 | Belarus | 0.0224 | 0.068 | 0.1396 | 0.0554 | 0.123 |
70 | Vietnam | 0.0145 | 0.0712 | 0.1396 | 0.0578 | 0.1241 |
71 | Morocco | 0.0068 | 0.0603 | 0.1247 | 0.113 | 0.1004 |
72 | Indonesia | 0.0064 | 0.0639 | 0.1382 | 0.0605 | 0.1342 |
73 | Peru | 0.0037 | 0.069 | 0.126 | 0.0819 | 0.1213 |
74 | Azerbaijan | 0.0093 | 0.0618 | 0.1361 | 0.0592 | 0.1253 |
75 | Montenegro | 0.0149 | 0.0566 | 0.1339 | 0.0765 | 0.1064 |
76 | Bangladesh | 0.024 | 0.0681 | 0.1204 | 0.0703 | 0.1021 |
77 | Tunisia | 0.011 | 0.0484 | 0.1225 | 0.0886 | 0.1142 |
78 | Kenya | 0.0047 | 0.0492 | 0.1391 | 0.0714 | 0.1193 |
79 | Dominican Republic | 0.0047 | 0.0597 | 0.1163 | 0.0754 | 0.1229 |
80 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.0127 | 0.0634 | 0.1353 | 0.0697 | 0.0974 |
81 | Panama | 0.0032 | 0.0851 | 0.1279 | 0.05 | 0.1111 |
82 | Ecuador | 0.0045 | 0.0656 | 0.132 | 0.0365 | 0.1256 |
83 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.0094 | 0.0622 | 0.1277 | 0.0551 | 0.1074 |
84 | Iran | 0.0149 | 0.0585 | 0.1482 | 0.0149 | 0.1113 |
85 | Egypt | 0.0064 | 0.0583 | 0.1098 | 0.0595 | 0.1135 |
86 | Nigeria | 0.0014 | 0.0552 | 0.1187 | 0.0768 | 0.0916 |
87 | Jordan | 0.0048 | 0.0754 | 0.1434 | 0.0297 | 0.0862 |
88 | Ghana | 0.0025 | 0.0531 | 0.0957 | 0.0724 | 0.1091 |
89 | Sri Lanka | 0.0071 | 0.0658 | 0.0943 | 0.0446 | 0.1184 |
90 | Mongolia | 0.015 | 0.059 | 0.135 | 0.0189 | 0.0951 |
91 | Kyrgyzstan | 0.0105 | 0.0603 | 0.0986 | 0.0457 | 0.1074 |
92 | Algeria | 0.005 | 0.0601 | 0.1312 | 0.0551 | 0.0707 |
93 | Bolivia | 0.0051 | 0.0583 | 0.1287 | 0.0324 | 0.0941 |
94 | Nepal | 0.0069 | 0.0684 | 0.1132 | 0.0497 | 0.0762 |
95 | Senegal | 0.0036 | 0.055 | 0.1048 | 0.0603 | 0.0906 |
96 | Pakistan | 0.006 | 0.0616 | 0.0938 | 0.0446 | 0.1015 |
97 | Jamaica | 0.0047 | 0.0584 | 0.113 | 0.0432 | 0.0859 |
98 | Uganda | 0.0007 | 0.0489 | 0.0777 | 0.0768 | 0.0943 |
99 | El Salvador | 0.0028 | 0.0662 | 0.1066 | 0.0257 | 0.0944 |
100 | Ivory Coast | 0.0006 | 0.0465 | 0.0881 | 0.0724 | 0.0869 |
101 | Cambodia | 0.0043 | 0.0631 | 0.1178 | 0.0162 | 0.0831 |
102 | Mali | 0.0011 | 0.0548 | 0.0969 | 0.0603 | 0.0689 |
103 | Namibia | 0.0046 | 0.0517 | 0.0955 | 0.0322 | 0.0899 |
104 | Guatemala | 0.0029 | 0.059 | 0.0877 | 0.0257 | 0.0878 |
105 | Zambia | 0.0034 | 0.0241 | 0.0935 | 0.0781 | 0.0613 |
106 | Botswana | 0.0051 | 0.0523 | 0.0977 | 0.023 | 0.0777 |
107 | Tanzania | 0.0021 | 0.0517 | 0.0813 | 0.0257 | 0.0924 |
108 | Honduras | 0.004 | 0.0675 | 0.0838 | 0.0108 | 0.0861 |
109 | Zimbabwe | 0.0019 | 0.034 | 0.0907 | 0.0362 | 0.0854 |
110 | Angola | 0.0047 | 0.0567 | 0.0576 | 0.0495 | 0.0748 |
111 | Laos | 0.0066 | 0.0489 | 0.0955 | 0.0189 | 0.059 |
112 | Tajikistan | 0.0108 | 0.0485 | 0.073 | 0.0108 | 0.0754 |
113 | Cameroon | 0.0014 | 0.0178 | 0.073 | 0.0338 | 0.0832 |
114 | Mozambique | 0.0021 | 0.0378 | 0.0526 | 0.0295 | 0.0815 |
115 | Ethiopia | 0.0032 | 0.0472 | 0.048 | 0.0338 | 0.0682 |
116 | Yemen | 0.007 | 0.0644 | 0.0479 | 0.0081 | 0.0527 |
117 | Congo DR | 0.0063 | 0.0596 | 0.0446 | 0.0027 | 0.0394 |
The fact that 15 of the top 20 highest-scoring nations, including #2 Denmark and #3 Germany, are in Europe is a reflection of the area’s high rankings in electronic infrastructure and security.
The Asia area was also well-represented at the top by #8 Japan, #10 South Korea, and #15 Singapore in addition to Israel. The United States, which came in at number 12, was the only nation not from Asia or Europe to rank in the top 20.

GDP’s Impact on Digital Infrastructure
The bulk of the lowest-ranking nations of the 117 nations for whom the index had data were in Asia or Africa. These are the bottom five: Cameroon, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In fact, when the DQL Index is plotted against GDP per capita, the following trend is evident and unsurprising:

Different priorities are emerging as nations struggle with having enough resources and money to improve their digital welfare. As an illustration. Many nations prioritized investments in internet infrastructure and quality while scoring low on internet affordability and electronic government.
Additionally, more nations were able to establish stable broadband internet over mobile internet, despite the widespread use of mobile phones.

The loss of citizen authority over the digital sphere, which has been supplanted by the demands of the state, is an apocalypse from which humanity can never recover. Should we be worried about the next digital apocalypse?
Dive into the full Digital Quality of Life Index for more intriguing findings.
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