Which country has most expensive internet?

For smartphone users fond of heavy streaming, mobile data doesn’t always come cheap. In fact, the cost of a gigabyte of mobile data varies hugely between countries. UK-based price comparison website cable.co.uk recently released an extensive analysis of mobile data pricing across the globe which focused on 6,313 data plans across 230 countries. India was named the cheapest country for one gigabyte of data with the average cost in U.S. dollars only coming to $0.26. Kyrgyzstan came second with $0.27 while Kazakhstan rounded off the top-three with $0.49.

Zimbabwe is the most expensive country for data where a gigabyte averages $75.20, 289 times as much as in India. The following infographic provides an overview of pricing in 15 selected countries with noticeable differences immediately apparent in Europe. While a gigabyte of data would set Italian smartphone users back $1.73, the same amount would cost $2.99 in France, $6.66 in the United Kingdom and $6.96 in Germany. Costs are even higher in North America where they average $12.02 in Canada and $12.38 in the United States.

Even though South Korea has been a trailblazer in exceptional mobile infrastructure and lightning fast internet for years, its prices are still quite hefty at around $15 for a gigabyte of mobile data. Smartphone users in Seoul are still better off than those in Switzerland where costs are in excess of $20. Commenting on the worldwide rankings, Dan Howdle, a consumer telecoms analyst at cable.co.uk, said that many of the cheapest countries have excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure so providers can offer large amounts of data at cheap prices. In many cases, the economy dictates that prices must be low, as that’s what people can afford.