Source: SurfShark
The Digital Quality of Life Index is an annual study that ranks 121 countries by their digital wellbeing based on 5 core pillars: internet quality, internet affordability, e-security, e-infrastructure, and e-government
Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2024 ranks New Zealand 32nd in the world. The study indicates how well the country is performing in terms of overall digital wellbeing compared to other nations. New Zealand dropped by five places from last year, which suggests the commitment to develop the digital landscape and position the country as a leader in leveraging technological advancements to improve citizens’ quality of life has slowed down. (ref. https://surfshark.com/research/dql )
“In an election year like 2024, where the digital realm shaped political discourse and societal values, prioritizing digital quality of life proved to be more important than ever. It helps to ensure informed citizens, protects democratic processes, and fosters innovation. Our annual project helps to better understand where each county stands in terms of digital divide, highlighting where a nation’s digital quality of life excels and where further focus is required,” says x, Surfshark’s spokesperson.
Out of the Index’s five pillars, New Zealand performed best in e-infrastructure, claiming 19th place, but faced challenges in e-security, ranking 36th. The nation ranks 23rd in e-government, 30th in internet affordability, and 35th in internet quality. In the overall Index, New Zealand surpasses Australia (37th) but lags behind the UK (9th). In Oceania, New Zealand takes 1st place and leads the region.
New Zealand ranks higher in e-government than 81% of the countries analyzed, with 98 countries falling below it.
E-government determines how advanced and digitized a country’s government services are. A well-developed e-government helps minimize bureaucracy, reduce corruption, and increase transparency within the public sector. This pillar also shows the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Countries with the highest readiness to adopt AI technology are also ready to counter national cyberthreats. New Zealand ranks 23rd in the world in e-government — nine places lower than last year.
New Zealand is 36th in the world in e-security — same as last year.
The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime and how advanced a country’s data protection laws are. New Zealand outperforms Australia, which ranks 42nd, but lags behind the UK, which takes 23rd place in the e-security pillar. New Zealand is prepared to fight against cybercrime; the country has good data protection laws.
“New Zealand has robust data protection laws, with its Privacy Acts sharing key similarities with the GDPR — one of the world’s strictest data protection frameworks. Both regulate data collection, usage, and transfers; however, unlike the GDPR, New Zealand’s Privacy Acts do not emphasize consent or address rights such as data erasure, objection, portability, or DPIAs. On the other hand, they provide more detailed guidelines for information sharing with public agencies. Despite strong data protection laws, improving New Zealand’s ability to combat cybercrime remains an important area for growth. A 2024 study by telecommunications company Kordia highlighted vulnerabilities affecting businesses, including third-party vendor failures, cloud misconfigurations, and security lapses. Strengthening e-security will be key to enhancing New Zealand’s digital quality of life in the future,” says x, Surfshark’s representative.
New Zealand’s internet quality is 17% higher than the global average.
New Zealand’s fixed internet averages 240Mbps. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed internet — Singapore’s — is 347Mbps. Meanwhile, the slowest fixed internet in the world — Tunisia’s — is 14Mbps.
New Zealand’s mobile internet averages 152Mbps. The fastest mobile internet — the UAE’s — is 430Mbps, while the world’s slowest mobile internet — Yemen’s — is 12Mbps.
Compared to Australia, New Zealand’s mobile internet is 5% slower, while fixed broadband is 115% faster. Since last year, mobile internet speed in New Zealand has improved by 19%, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 9%.
Despite the setback, the internet is affordable in New Zealand compared to other countries.
New Zealanders have to work 1 hour 15 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. While this is less than average, it is 5 times more than in Bulgaria, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet (Bulgarians have to work 14 minutes a month to afford it).
New Zealanders have to work 51 minutes 19 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is 4 times more than in Angola, which has the world’s most affordable mobile internet (Angolans have to work 9 minutes a month to afford it).
“This year’s Digital Quality of Life (DQL) ranking revealed a decline in New Zealand’s internet affordability. And DQL is not the only research that highlights this — recent research from Cable.co.uk placed New Zealand 128th globally for broadband affordability. The average monthly broadband cost in New Zealand was reported at NZD 82 — a staggering twenty times higher than Sudan, which topped the list as the most affordable. An expert from Cable.co.uk also noted that the high cost of broadband in developed nations like New Zealand is not necessarily due to the expense of deploying advanced infrastructure but is often influenced by higher earnings and market conditions. To improve its overall digital quality of life, New Zealand may need to look deeper into enhancing its internet affordability,” says x, Surfshark’s representative.
New Zealand is 19th in e-infrastructure.
Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, shopping, etc. This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country, as well as its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies). New Zealand’s internet penetration is high (96% — 14th in the world), and the country ranks 23rd in network readiness.
On a global scale, investing in e-government and e-infrastructure improves digital wellbeing the most.
Among the five pillars, e-government has the strongest correlation with the DQL Index (0.92), followed by e-infrastructure (0.91); internet affordability shows the weakest correlation at 0.65.
METHODOLOGY
The DQL Index 2024 examines 121 nations based on five core pillars that consist of 14 indicators. The study is based on the United Nations’ open-source information, the World Bank, and other sources. New Zealand’s full profile in the 2024 Digital Quality of Life report and an interactive country comparison tool can be found here: https://surfshark.com/research/dql/country/NZ
NOTES
Surfshark is a cybersecurity company focused on developing humanized privacy and security solutions. The Surfshark One suite includes one of the very few VPNs audited by independent security experts, an officially certified antivirus, a private search tool, and a data leak alert system. Surfshark is recognized as the Tech Advisor’s Editor’s Choice for 2024. For more research projects, visit our research hub at: surfshark.com/research
