South Africa is this year ranked the first in Africa and 34th in the world, according to the 2020 Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index, which gives insight into how people’s overall welfare is influenced by their digital wellbeing.
The study sampled the quality of a digital wellbeing in 85 countries across the globe over five key pillars: Internet affordability, Internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic government and electronic security.
On the continent, the DQL Index 2020 shows SA leads Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in terms of the key measures of digital quality of life.
The study is a product of privacy company Surfshark, providing insights into the gaps between people’s online experiences in various societies.
Authors of the current report say in the 2020 study, 6.3 billion people or 81% of the global population was covered.
On measuring Internet affordability, SA ranks 34th in the world, and the report says the Internet is more affordable in the country than in “economically affluent countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar”.
SA placed in 73rd position in terms of e-infrastructure, while Internet quality is ranked in 63rd place globally.
Furthermore, SA’s e-security ranks 59th globally, with cyber security garnering the 52nd spot globally.
The index says focusing resources on improving a country's cyber security and protecting people's personal data would have the greatest impact on their digital quality of life.
In June, it was announced that local entities now have one year to comply with the long-awaited Protection of Personal Information Act.
According the DQL Index 2020, European Union countries lead in protecting people's personal data.
The study shows the top 10 countries with the highest e-security levels are the European Union member states. Globally, it says, they lead in implementing effective cyber security policies and ensuring personal data protection.
“Governments in Europe, South-Eastern Asia and North America are the most prepared to counter cyber threats,” says the study.
Additionally, the advancement of electronic government services helps to minimise the bureaucracy, reduce corruption and increase transparency of the public sector.
“Well-developed e-government also improves the efficiency of public services and helps people save time, having a notable influence on the quality of their digital lives.”
The index also states that governments’ readiness to take advantage of the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence technology and its services provided online strongly correlate with the country's e-security, except for Eastern European, South Asian and African countries.
Another key area highlighted in the study is the importance of e-infrastructure, which it says enables people to use the Internet more “in their daily lives for a multitude of purposes, such as studying, e-commerce, entertainment, banking, and others. This strongly amounts to having a better digital experience.”
Last year, SA was ranked 40 in the index.
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