The Global Internet Value Index (IVi) which was just released by Surfshark, has revealed that internet users in Nigeria are paying more for the service they are getting.
According to Surfshark’s data, Nigeria ranks 109th globally with an index of 0.0017, which is 44 times lower than the global average. What this means is that Nigerians are overpaying for the internet they get compared to other countries worldwide.
The Global Internet Value index is calculated by dividing each country’s internet speed by internet affordability to determine which countries are overpaying for their internet.
Nigeria came behind African countries like South Africa and Ghana, which rank 70th and 105th respectively, both also overpaying for the internet they get. In terms of regional position, Nigeria ranks 16th with its index 56% lower than Africa’s average, while the country is 12th in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Comparing internet value in Africa: The report shows that 4 out of every 10 people can access the internet at a fair price. South Africa remains the outright leader, with Egypt ranking second, followed by Morocco.
While the top-ranking African country, South Africa, is part of the Sub-Saharan Africa subregion, the Northern Africa subregion performs better overall, with the average index of its 4 countries being 2 times higher than Sub-Saharan Africa’s.
All Northern African countries have above-average internet value, while only 1 in 4 (26.3%) Sub-Saharan African countries do. Zimbabwe and Uganda are the lowest-ranking African countries, followed closely by Cameroon.
The report shows that Oceania and Europe lead the world in internet value, while internet affordability in North America, South America, and Africa is below average. Globally, only 4 out of 10 people get their internet at fair prices, while the remaining 61% overpay for the internet they get.
Fair pricing: Commenting on the report, Lead Researcher at Surfshark, Agneska Sablovskaja, said:
“Internet Value index offers to look at internet connection from a practical perspective – whether we get what we pay for. Even economically affluent countries with relatively fast internet can overpay compared to others worldwide.
“However, some countries may have slower internet but also pay a considerably lower price, which is then considered fair.”
The Index methodology: According to Surfshark, the study ranks 117 countries and territories based on the Internet Value index (IVi), which is determined by fixed broadband internet and mobile internet speed-to-affordability ratios. It focuses on four indicators directly influencing the quality to affordability aspect, which include:
The time to work to afford fixed broadband internet (hours).
The time to work to afford mobile internet (hours).
Median fixed broadband download speed (Mbps). 4)
Median mobile internet download speed (Mbps).
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