Singapore is sixth in world digital quality of life index

Singapore ranked sixth globally in the digital quality of life index, with Internet access and stability, and digital government services among the best in the world.

Now in its third year, the index analyses how digitally advanced a country is and shows key areas for improvements.

The Republic climbed six spots among 110 countries surveyed annually by virtual private network service provider Surfshark. Its most significant improvements were in Internet affordability and electronic security, with data protection laws tightening from "very low" to "high" over the past year.

Using publicly available data from the United Nations, World Bank and other institutions, the index measures a country's digital well-being based on five pillars - Internet affordability and quality, digital infrastructure, cyber security and electronic government, which examines how well the services are digitalised.

Denmark held top spot for the second year in a row, followed by South Korea, Finland, Israel and the United States.

While electronic government remains one of its best-performing metrics, Singapore fell from top spot to fifth place, based on online services provided and readiness to employ artificial intelligence (AI). The US rose to No. 1, being the most ready to implement AI.

Singapore was 13th globally in Internet quality, with the fastest broadband Internet speed at 230.22Mbps for a second year running, matched with very high network stability.

Its Internet services were also 30 per cent better than the global average, Surfshark added, but it was held back because of stagnating annual improvements made to broadband and mobile Internet speeds.

South Korea could surpass Singapore in the coming years as it has seen the highest growth rates in Internet quality, the study said.

Singapore slipped nine positions to rank 17th in terms of fastest mobile Internet. Internet quality directly impacts the digital quality of life, reported Surfshark, as it boosts work efficiency and allows for better communication.

Despite broadband becoming less affordable around the world, Singapore's Internet affordability ranked 15th worldwide, 60 per cent better than the world average.

The study also found people in Singapore need to work an average of one hour and 17 minutes to afford the cheapest broadband Internet package and 51 seconds for the cheapest 1GB of mobile Internet.

Surfshark chief executive officer Vytautas Kaziukonis said: "Digital opportunities have proved to be more important than ever during the Covid-19 crisis, stressing the importance for every country to ensure fully remote operational capacities for their economies."