Do you know what the most wired countries in the world are? Do you think your country ranks at the top? Many people are surprised to hear that Scandinavia is home to the most wired countries on the planet, with Norway being named the world’s most wired country.
On the other hand, Asia leads the pack when it comes to mobile connectivity.
Bloomberg Says
Bloomberg crunched the data from the ITU World Telecommunication/ ICT Indicators database, which included fixed broadband and mobile broadband penetration, to come up with the final wired score. It evaluated fixed broadband and mobile broadband use, along with the percentage of households that use the Internet, to come up with a list of the Top 20 Wired Countries and determine a clear-cut frontrunner.Scandinavian Countries Rank One Through Five
Norway leads the world as the most wired country, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland. As the Bloomberg investigation reveals, these countries don’t just impress when it comes to ice fjords and northern lights. They’re modern, connected places that seem to be doing quite a few things right (Norway even came in No. 2 on the United Nation’s World Happiness Report).Are the Skies the Limit for Norway?
Not only is Norway pushing ahead when it comes to wiredness, but the country’s Norwegian Air airline is now offering free high-speed broadband on nearly all of its European flights. Norwegian Air CEO, Bjorn Kjos, stated to the Wall Street Journal that many Norwegians take Wi-Fi for granted when they check into a hotel or even board a bus. He said that they don’t want to pay for Wi-Fi when they fly on an aircraft.What About the US, England, and Other Countries?
Londoners might think they’ve got one of the most impressive things going because they can send emails from the Tube station. But the UK actually came in at No. 9 on the most-wired list (which is nothing to be ashamed of) behind South Korea, which landed the No. 6 spot. U.S. citizens might be shocked to hear that their country landed behind the UK and South Korea, at No. 13.
Singapore ranked in 14th place, Japan placed at No. 11, and Hong Kong came in in 19th position. If we were to look at mobile penetration alone, the numbers would be a lot different, with Singapore rated at No. 1 and Norway dropping down to eighth place.
So what does all this mean? For the Scandinavian countries, it sure seems to mean convenience getting online and checking emails when in the public sphere.