Surfshark, a cybersecurity company, has released the 2023 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) which ranks countries based on their digital quality of life. The Philippines was ranked 60th out of 121 countries, five places lower than the previous year. The Index considers five core pillars: internet quality, internet affordability, electronic security, electronic infrastructure, and electronic government.
Surfshark stated that the Philippines performed best in terms of internet quality, ranking 21st globally. However, it ranked lower in other areas, placing 45th in e-security, 54th in e-infrastructure, and 64th in e-government. The country’s internet affordability was highlighted as a major concern, ranking 104th.
According to Surfshark spokeswoman Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, the concept of “digital quality of life” has become intertwined with overall quality of life, as many daily activities are now conducted online. The DQL Index aims to identify areas where a nation’s digital quality of life excels and where improvements are needed.
In Asia, the Philippines ranked 17th, with Singapore leading the region. The country’s internet quality was found to be 25% higher than the global average, with a fixed internet speed of 119 Mbps, compared to Singapore’s 300 Mbps. The mobile internet speed in the Philippines averaged 55 Mbps, slightly higher than Venezuela’s 10 Mbps, which has the slowest mobile internet in the world. Surfshark mentioned that the Philippines has seen significant improvements in mobile internet speed (43%) and fixed broadband speed (59%) compared to the previous year. It also outperforms Indonesia and Malaysia in terms of cybercrime preparedness.
However, the study revealed that Filipinos need to work over 10 hours to afford one month’s fixed broadband internet rate, which is 34 times higher than Romania, the country with the most affordable fixed internet. As for mobile internet, it costs over three hours of each Filipino user’s time, 12 times more than Luxembourg’s 16 minutes.
Surfshark also highlighted the Philippines’ internet penetration rate, which measures the ease of using the internet in daily activities. The country scored 91% in this aspect, ranking 38th globally. When it comes to network readiness to take advantage of information and communication technologies, the Philippines ranked 70th.
The study was based on open-source information from the United Nations, the World Bank, and other sources.
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