Cybersecurity company Surfshark has ranked South Africa as number one in Africa for its “digital quality of life”, ahead of Kenya, at 76 globally, and Nigeria, placing at 88 globally.

However, the country fell six places to 72 globally in Surfshark’s fifth yearly Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index, which is a yearly study ranking 121 countries' digital wellbeing based on five core pillars.

“In many nations, digital quality of life has merged into the broader concept of overall quality of life. There is no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education and leisure, are done online,” said Surfshark spokesperson Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske.

“That is why it is crucial to pinpoint the areas in which a nation's digital quality of life thrives and where attention is needed, which is the precise purpose of the DQL Index.”

The Index found that, while South Africa performed best in the Internet affordability pillar, ranking at 52, it faced challenges in e-infrastructure, which ranked at 94.

The index indicates that South Africans have to work one hour and 43 minutes a month to afford fixed-broadband Internet, which is less than average but six times more than in Romania, where it takes a citizen 18 minutes a month of work to afford making it the world’s most affordable fixed Internet.

To afford mobile Internet, South Africans have to work one hour, 26 minutes and one second a month. This is five times more than the 16 minutes of work a month in Luxembourg, which has the world’s most affordable mobile Internet.

“Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the Internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying and shopping, besides others,” said Racaityte-Krasauske, noting that this pillar evaluates how high Internet penetration is in a given country, as well as its network readiness, such as readiness to take advantage of information and communication technologies.

South Africa’s Internet penetration, however, is low at 58%, ranking at 97, and 67 in network readiness.

Meanwhile, South Africa ranked 61 in the e-government pillar, 63 in Internet quality and 72 in e-security.

“The e-government pillar shows how advanced a government’s digital services are and the level of artificial intelligence-readiness a country demonstrates. South Africa’s e-government is similar to the global average and it is ranked as the best in Africa.”

South Africa’s Internet quality is also around the global average.

The country’s fixed Internet averages 70 Mb/s, compared with Singapore, which is home to the world’s fastest fixed Internet at 300 Mb/s, and Yemen, which at 11 Mb/s has the slowest fixed Internet in the world.

South Africa’s mobile Internet averages 68 Mb/s, compared with the United Arab Emirates with speeds of 310 Mb/s and Venezuela, where speeds are 10 Mb/s.

Since last year, mobile Internet speed in South Africa has improved by 30%, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 30%.

Compared with Kenya, South Africa’s mobile Internet is 79% faster, while fixed broadband is 228% faster.

In terms of e-security, South Africa ranks at 72, seven places lower than last year.

The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime, as well as how advanced a country’s data protection laws are, said Racaityte-Krasauske.

South Africa lags behind Kenya, which ranks at 65, but outperforms Nigeria, at 73, in the e-security pillar.

“In the global context, South Africa is unprepared to fight against cybercrime, and the country does not have very advanced data protection laws,” Racaityte-Krasauske concluded.