Bangladesh has fallen six places in Surfshark’s annual Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index, ranking 82nd among 121 countries in the 2025 edition. The index evaluates digital wellbeing across five pillars: internet quality, affordability, e-government, e-infrastructure, and e-security.
The country’s strongest performance was in internet quality, where it placed 65th. Fixed broadband averages 53 Mbps and mobile internet 20 Mbps, though both remain below regional and global benchmarks. While speeds have improved — mobile internet grew by 41 percent and broadband by 23 percent over the past year — Bangladesh still trails India by significant margins.
On internet affordability, Bangladesh ranked 77th. Citizens must work over four hours monthly to afford fixed broadband and more than 90 minutes for mobile internet — considerably higher than in countries with the most affordable rates, such as Romania and Luxembourg.
Bangladesh also ranked 73rd in e-government, reflecting limited progress in AI readiness and digital public services, and 84th in e-infrastructure, with internet penetration at 77 percent. However, it slipped to 85th in e-security, falling 10 places due to weaker cybercrime protection and data security readiness.
Regionally, Bangladesh placed 25th in Asia, behind India (52nd) but ahead of Pakistan (93rd). Globally, Singapore leads the index, while Yemen and Venezuela recorded the lowest internet speeds.
