The internet, if ever considered a luxury service before, is now a necessity in every home, institution, and public space.
To rate a country's rank in comparison to others, many factors are usually taken into consideration. Free or accessible healthcare, economic and social stability, passport's strength, and tech advancement are often on top of classification lists' criteria.
Internet speed, under the latter's umbrella, can make or break a nation's global level.
New data designed and compiled by Cable - a UK-based service that analyzes broadband, telecom, and TV - and gathered by M-Lab, revealed worldwide internet speeds by comparing the time it takes to "download a 5GB HD movie" in each respective country. Cable.co.uk conducted speed tests in 207 territories to form its "Worldwide broadband speed league 2019" list.
Taiwan came in at No. 1 in the ranking, with a speed of 85.02 Mbps, while Yemen took the last spot (No. 207) with a speed of 0.38 Mbps.
The top five countries, according to the data, are as follows:
- Taiwan (8 minutes, 2 seconds)
- Singapore (9 minutes, 38 seconds)
- Jersey (10 minutes, 07 seconds)
- Sweden (12 minutes, 22 seconds)
- Denmark (13 minutes, 53 seconds)
As for Arab countries, here's how each ranked when it comes to how long it takes to download a 5GB HD movie.
1. United Arab Emirates (1 hour, 10 minutes, 59 seconds)
The UAE ranked No. 67 globally, jumping 30 ranks from its 2018 position.
The country showed an improvement of 120.91 percent in its internet speed since 2018, reaching 9.62 Mbps compared to 4.35 Mbps in 2018 and 4.17 Mbps in 2017.
2. Bahrain (1 hour, 49 minutes, 25 seconds)
Bahrain ranked No. 94 globally, sliding four ranks down from its 2018 position.
However, the GCC country showed an increase of 23.44 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 6.24 Mbps compared to 5.05 Mbps in 2018 and 3.13 Mbps in 2017.
3. Morocco (2 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds)
Morocco ranked No. 100 globally, jumping five ranks from its 2018 position.
It showed an increase of 35.94 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.48 Mbps compared to 4.03 Mbps in 2018 and 4.38 Mbps in 2017.
4. Qatar (2 hours, 7 minutes, 41 seconds)
Qatar ranked No. 101 globally, jumping 10 ranks from its 2018 position.
It showed an increase of 40.81 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.35 Mbps compared to 3.80 Mbps in 2018 and 3.89 Mbps in 2017.
5. Saudi Arabia (2 hours, 9 minutes, 31 seconds)
Saudi Arabia ranked No. 103 globally, jumping one rank from its 2018 position.
It showed an increase of 28.80 percent in its internet speed from 2018's rank, reaching 5.27 Mbps compared to 4.09 Mbps in 2018 and 3.06 Mbps in 2017.
How other Arab nations ranked in the 2019 list
The rest of the Arab countries varied in ranks compared to Cable's 2018 and 2017 lists. It is worth noting that the company's 2017 list - its first edition of the study - ranked countries based on their download speed of a 7.5GB HD movie, and not 5GB HD movie like its 2019 list.
Here's a brief rundown of where the remaining nations stood in 2019 when it comes to internet speed:
- Jordan No. 104 globally
- Oman No. 107 globally
- Tunisia No. 114 globally
- Kuwait No. 125 globally
- Comoros No. 153 globally
- Sudan No. 164 globally
- Libya No. 166 globally
- Lebanon No. 167 globally
- Palestine No. 169 globally
- Egypt No. 173 globally
- Iraq No. 180 globally
- Algeria No. 182 globally
- Syria No. 195 globally
- Djibouti No. 198 globally
- Somalia No. 200 globally
- Mauritania No. 204 globally
- Yemen No. 207 globally