Digital happiness: Uganda ranks 98th on the global index

The country’s internet is 35% worse than global average

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Uganda is ranked 98^th out of 117 countries when it comes to its citizens’ digital well-being, according to the 2022 digital quality of life index published on Sept.28.

The study conducted by The Netherlands-based Surfshark, a cybersecurity company, is based on the United Nations open-source information, the World Bank, Freedom House, the International Communications Union, and other sources.

This year’s index which is the fourth in its series offers a unique insight into a country’s digital quality of life based on five pillars including internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security, and electronic government.

According to the index, Uganda’s internet quality (internet speed, stability, and growth), ranks 107th in the world and is 35% worse than the global average. Regarding internet speed alone, Uganda’s mobile internet ranks higher than fixed broadband in the global ranking, operating at 20.6 Mbps/s (104th globally). Meanwhile, the fixed broadband internet comes 108th (16.3 Mbps/s).

Uganda’s mobile internet is much slower

Compared with neighbouring Kenya, Uganda’s mobile internet is 14% slower, while broadband is 16% slower. Singapore has the fastest internet in the world with its residents enjoying mobile speeds of up to 104 Mbps/s and fixed broadband is as fast as 261 Mbps/s.

Uganda which has been featured on the index for the first time ranks worst in internet affordability (116th globally) while its best score is in e-security (66th).  When it comes to e-government services, Uganda is ranked 92^nd while its rank for internet quality and e-infrastructure is 107th and 110th, respectively.

Out of all index pillars, Uganda’s weakest score is on internet affordability, which according to the survey needs to improve by 27,420% to match Israel—the best-ranked country’s result.

Uganda’s pricey internet

This year’s “Digital Quality of Life” comes at a time when internet users in the country continue to cry foul of expensive internet. Even when local telecom companies have in recent years invested a lot in infrastructure to boost internet access, internet user numbers have not grown markedly.

The government’s proclivity to slap taxes on this sector continues unabated. The government, for instance, continues to charge VAT of 18% and excise duty of 12% on new imported mobile phones as well as other taxes on the internet.

Local experts blame low internet penetration on low access to internet-enabled devices especially Smartphones which could ideally increase internet access in the country. According to data from local telecommunications giants, MTN Uganda, only about 35% of their customers are using Smartphones.

The company adds that much as telecom companies have invested heavily in e-infrastructure, it is using only 5% of its underground internet cables yet the operational costs remain the same. No wonder, Uganda’s internet penetration stands at merely 29.4% compared to Tanzania’s 38% and Kenya’s 53%.

Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo recently told a forum on digital connectivity that the government is “working with partners to achieve seamless internet connectivity that will drive down the cost of internet in Uganda.”

Global digital outlook

This year, Israel pushed Denmark off the index’s top spot into second place. Germany, France and Sweden complete the top five ranked countries of the 117 surveyed countries while DR Congo, Yemen, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Cameroon are the bottom five countries on the index.

Regionally, the US stands out in the Americas as a country with the highest digital quality of life, while Israel takes the leading position in Asia. Among African countries, people in South Africa enjoy the highest digital life quality. In the Oceania region, New Zealand takes the lead outperforming Australia in various digital areas this year.

Globally, the index shows how broadband is getting less affordable each year. Looking at countries included in last year’s index, people have to work six minutes more to afford broadband internet in 2022.

In some countries, such as Ivory Coast and Uganda, people work an average of two weeks to earn the cheapest fixed broadband internet package. The same trend was observed last year.

With the current inflation, the pressure on low-income households that need the internet has become even heavier. Surfshark’s study also found that countries with the poorest internet connection have to work for it the longest.

Residents in Uganda can buy one gigabyte (1GB) of mobile internet in Uganda for 41 minutes 50 seconds of work per month, six times more than in Kenya. In comparison to Israel which has the most affordable mobile internet on the planet (5s per 1GB), Ugandans work 510 times more.

Meanwhile, fixed broadband costs Ugandan citizens around 59 hours of their precious working time each month. To afford it, Ugandans have to work 183 times more than Israeli citizens, for whom the most affordable package costs only 19 min of work monthly.

Interestingly, while countries with a strong digital quality of life tend to be those of advanced economies, our global study found that money doesn’t always buy digital happiness.

“That is why, for the fourth year in a row, we continue analyzing the Digital Quality of Life to see how different nations keep up with providing the basic digital necessities for their citizens. Most importantly, our research seeks to show the full picture of the global digital divide that millions of people are suffering from,” Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, a senior official at Surfshark told The Independent in an email.

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