Digital Quality of Life
A global research on the quality of a digital wellbeing in 85 countries (81% of the global population)
The Digital Quality of Life Index has revealed insights on what tangible factors have the greatest impact on the country’s digital wellbeing, and which areas should be prioritized in improving its potential.
Seven out of ten countries where people enjoy the highest quality of their digital lives are in Europe, with Denmark taking the leading position globally. If looking regionally, Canada (3rd) takes the leading place in the Americas, Israel (8th) and Japan (9th) shine from the crowd in the Middle East and Asia, South Africa (59th) leads in the continent of Africa, and New Zealand (17th) stands out in Oceania.
The five-pillar research design
The DQL Index 2020 is based on the five core pillars that define the digital quality of life:
- Internet affordability (mobile and broadband)
- Internet quality (mobile and broadband)
- Electronic government availability and advancement
- Electronic infrastructure development
- The state of electronic security
Each of the five pillars includes other factors that define them. There are twelve such factors. For instance, the internet quality pillar consists of internet download speed results and the stability of its connectivity during unanticipated shocks (in this case, moving to work from home setting during the COVID-19 outbreak).
Key global findings of the DQL Index 2020:
- The COVID-19 outbreak had a significant impact on internet stability. 49 of 85 countries experienced drops in mobile and 44 in broadband speed due to the WFH setting.
- High inequality in affordability: people in 75% of the researched countries have to work more than the global average to afford the internet.
- E-security, e-infrastructure, and e-government have a more significant correlation with the digital quality of life than GDP per capita.
For the in-depth analysis, check the Digital Quality of Life report 2020 .
The Digital Quality of Life 2020 study is based on information provided by the United Nations, the World Bank, Freedom House, the International Communications Union, and other public data sources.
Originally published at https://surfshark.com on July 23, 2020.
