Kuala Lumpur, Sept 14: Surfshark’s 5th annual Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) for 2023 has assessed Malaysia’s digital quality of life and ranked the country 37th in the world, a drop from its 26th position in 2022.
The DQL Index evaluates countries across five key pillars, and Malaysia’s performance varies across these areas.
- Internet Quality (Rank: 13th): Malaysia excels in internet quality, securing the 13th position globally. The average fixed internet speed in Malaysia is 133 Mbps, significantly higher (38 per cent) than the global average.
- Internet Affordability (Rank: 26th): The affordability of the internet in Malaysia is comparatively good, with Malaysians needing to work four hours and 48 minutes per month to afford fixed broadband internet. This is lower than the global average but higher than some countries with extremely affordable internet.
- E-Government (Rank: 32nd): Malaysia ranks 32nd in e-government, reflecting the country’s level of advancement in offering digital government services and AI readiness, which is above the global average.
- E-Infrastructure (Rank: 33rd): Malaysia ranks 33rd in e-infrastructure, indicating its ability to provide high internet penetration and network readiness, with 94 per cent internet penetration (24th in the world).
- E-Security (Rank: 48th): Malaysia faces challenges in e-security, ranking 48th globally. This pillar evaluates a country’s preparedness to counter cybercrime and the strength of its data protection laws. While Malaysia performs better than some neighboring countries, there is room for improvement.
Overall, Malaysia lags behind Singapore (10th) but outperforms Thailand (51st) in the DQL Index. In the broader context of Asia, Malaysia ranks 6th, with Singapore leading the region.
The study also reveals that mobile internet speed in Malaysia has improved significantly (142 per cent increase) since the previous year, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 19 per cent. However, when compared to Singapore, Malaysia’s mobile internet is 44 per cent slower, and its fixed broadband is 56 per cent slower.
The DQL Index 2023 assessed 121 nations based on 14 indicators across five pillars, using data from sources such as the United Nations and the World Bank. Surfshark’s commitment to global representation is reflected in the inclusion of four more countries in this year’s study compared to DQL 2022.
For a detailed profile of Malaysia in the 2023 Digital Quality of Life report and an interactive country comparison tool, you can visit Surfshark’s DQL 2023 page.
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