Worldwide broadband speed league 2019

Tracking broadband speed measurements in 207 countries and territories across multiple 12-month periods has allowed us to generate an overall average speed for the globe and to see how this number changes over time. The good news is that the global average speed is rising fast.

• The average global broadband speed measured during the period from May 2016 to May 2017 was 7.40 megabits per second (Mbps). The average global broadband speed measured during the period from May 2017 to May 2018 was 9.10Mbps – a rise of 23.35%. The average speed measured in the period from May 2018 to May 2019 was 11.03Mbps – a further rise of 20.65% over the previous year.
• However, it should be noted that those countries contributing the most to the rising average are those in developed nations which contain not only already-faster established infrastructure, but in which we’re also seeing the most significant rollout and uptake of the latest technology. There is comparatively little development – and therefore little change in availability and/or uptake of faster infrastructure – in the bottom half of the league table compared to the top. 
• Before you paint a picture that broadband provision is improving globally based on the 20.65% jump in average global speed since last year, consider that, on average, the top 100 countries in the table have gained 4.08Mbps while the bottom 100 in the table have gained by an average of only 0.47Mbps. Not including new entries, the top 100 countries have increased their average broadband speed by 25.63%. The bottom 100 countries have increased their average broadband speed by 23.77%. Proportionately, then, the difference in year-on-year speed increase is small.

Research designed and compiled by Cable.co.uk, and gathered by M-Lab, an open source project with contributors from civil society organisations, educational institutions, and private sector companies.The gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen