Denmark tops digital quality of life global index. Where does India stand?

India has been ranked 59 out of 110 in global research conducted to measure digital well-being. According to cybersecurity firm Surfshark, it has performed fairly on e-governance and electronic security- cybersecurity and data protection laws. But it has shown poor performance on the parameters of electronic infrastructure and quality of the internet.

The British Virgin Islands' based VPN service company released its Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2021 on Monday which included 110 countries. The research was based on five digital parameters–internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security, and electronic government.

Denmark topped the index for the second year successively while the five countries with the poorest ranking are Ethiopia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala, and Angola. Six out of ten countries with the highest score in the index are European nations. As mentioned earlier, India ranks 59th in overall parameters. China has jumped 16 spots to be placed 22nd. Pakistan stood at 97th position while Bangladesh has been ranked 103rd.

Internet affordability

It measures how much time people have to work to purchase the internet connection. It is figured out by comparing the price of the cheapest 1 GB mobile data package and the lowest broadband internet package price, to the average hourly wage in an individual country.

India has ranked 47th on this parameter. The survey estimates China has one of the most affordable internet availability, placing it at 7th position while the cost of internet usage is quite high in India's other neighbouring countries – Pakistan and Bangladesh, which are on 66th and 84th spot, respectively.

Quality of Internet

The survey measures speed and stability of the mobile and broadband internet connectivity in a country as well as its improvement over the years.

The quality of the internet has been shown to ruin digital well-being of Indian citizens, as the report places India at 67th rank. Its mobile internet quality is placed at 109th spot with an estimated speed of 12.33 Mbps. Pakistan and Bangladesh have performed poorer than India, with 74th and 89th ranks. China outperforms by a huge margin, securing third position on this parameter in the global survey. China’s mobile internet speed is estimated at 129.67 Mbps.

Electronic infrastructure

The survey measures the development and inclusivity of electronic infrastructure in a country. It is determined by knowing the network readiness and calculating the number of individuals using the internet per 100 inhabitants.

India has ranked poorly at 91st position on this parameter. The survey shows that the internet penetration is lower in India, with only 53.80 individuals out of 100 citizens enjoying internet services. Bangladesh has ranked better than India securing 89th position while China is shown to possess better infrastructure, taking its ranking to 55th while Pakistan tumbles to 106th spot.

Electronic security

This parameter assesses how much a particular country is prepared to counter cybercrimes and to protect any individual’s online privacy. It sees the cybersecurity and data protection laws prevailing in the country.

India has performed fairly well on this parameter, securing 36th spot, even higher than China, which ranks 72nd. The state of electronic security in Bangladesh has been estimated very low to 103rd spot, while Pakistan scores a bit better to spot 98th position.

E-governance

It tries to find out how modern and digitised are a country’s government services by measuring the government’s online presence and use of artificial intelligence technology for public good.

India has ranked 33rd on this parameter, far better than neighbouring Pakistan (85) and Bangladesh (86). However, the Chinese government as per the survey, offers better online governance to its citizens ranking at 17th.