Worldwide mobile data pricing 2022
The cost of 1GB of mobile data in 233 countries
A global league table of mobile data costs. The average cost of one gigabyte (1GB) was then calculated and compared from over 5,000 mobile data plans in 233 countries.
Interactive map
Using the map
Countries are colour-coded by the average price of one gigabyte (1GB) of mobile data. As you can see, this paints an interesting picture, with a wide range of countries where mobile data is cheapest, but with some of the most expensive found predominantly in the remote island nations of Africa and South America.
Hovering over an individual country will bring up its associated data. This includes country name, its ranking out of the 233 countries measured, its cheapest available 1GB of data, its most expensive 1GB of data, how many plans were measured to create the average, and on what day the snapshot was taken.
Why some countries are missing data
Unlike our measurements of worldwide broadband speed and worldwide broadband pricing, where lack of fixed-line infrastructure meant significant gaps, mobile data provision is near-ubiquitous. However, there are still some countries or territories where either no provision exists, there exists only 2G infrastructure, providing only calls and/or SMS texts, or the data simply isn't available. And there are countries and regions where problems with its currency do not allow for useful comparison.
It is a dwindling list, however. This year's excluded countries are: Christmas Island, Eritrea, North Korea, Marshall Islands, Vatican City (Holy See), Wallis and Futuna, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Niue, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen. You can find the reasons behind the exclusion of each of these countries in the second tab of the downloadable data.
Related research
Other connectivity-focused data published by Cable.co.uk and various data partners are as follows:
The Worldwide broadband speed league by Cable.co.uk in association with M-Lab, a partnership between New America's Open Technology Institute, Google Inc., Princeton University's PlanetLab, and other supporting partners. We also undertook a study of global network speeds during Covid 19 lockdown periods in conjunction with the Oxford Covid Lockdown Stringency Tracker.
The worldwide broadband price comparison by Cable.co.uk looks at broadband packages in a similar way to this study. As does our annual energy tracker, which measures the cost of 1Kwh of electricity in just about every country in the world.
Highlights
Here is a quick look at some of the highlights unearthed in the study
#1. Israel
With three-quarters of Israelis owning a smartphone, Israel boasts a higher smartphone market penetration than the United States of America. Multiple providers offer huge data allowances with extensive 4G LTE and 5G network coverage.
#2. Italy
A dozen or so popular providers in Italy collectively offer some of the cheapest data in the world. 5G is now available to around 95% of the population, alongside ubiquitous 4G.
#3. San Marino
Italy’s tiny neighbour was the first European state to have a 5G network, established by Italian network TIM. San Marino benefits from 100% 5G coverage.
#4.Fiji
Despite being a remote island nation, Fiji has two mobile networks, both of which provide 4G and growing 5G coverage across the island, along with a broad range of large data deals.
The most and least expensive countries in the world for 1GB of mobile data
Here we take a closer look at the five most and least expensive countries in the world to buy 1GB of mobile data
Five most expensive countries in the world
The five most expensive countries in terms of the average cost of 1GB of mobile data are Saint Helena (USD 41.06), the Falkland Islands (USD 38.45), São Tomé and Príncipe (USD 29.49), Tokelau (USD 17.88) and Yemen (USD 16.58).
The similarities between these five nations are both striking and obvious. Two of the five are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, and four of five are island nations. Sub-Saharan Africa is the second-most expensive region in the world for mobile data generally, while island nations also tend to be among the most expensive.
Five cheapest countries in the world
The five cheapest countries in terms of the average cost of 1GB of mobile data are Israel (USD 0.04), Italy (USD 0.12), San Marino (USD 0.14), Fiji (USD 0.15), and India (USD 0.17).
Conversely to the most expensive, only one of these countries is an island, and none of them are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Italy offers the cheapest mobile data in Western Europe and also maintains the infrastructure in San Marino. Israel has been a global leader in the provision of 5G and continues to top the global table when it comes to the price of data as well. In comparison, much of India’s population relies on mobile data to get online, fuelling demand and hence keeping prices low.
Countries can be categorised using a mixture of these four archetypes
Researchers uncovered four main country archetypes that go the greatest distance to explaining the expense, or lack of, mobile data across the globe. Note that many countries will be formed of a mixture of two or more of these.
Excellent infrastructure: Countries with long-established, ubiquitous 4G or new 5G infrastructure tend to fall towards the cheaper end of the table. This is due to the fact that their mobile data plans tend to offer considerably more data than the global median, caps usually in the hundreds of gigabytes, or even completely unlimited. The cost per gigabyte in these countries will tend therefore to be very low.
Heavy reliance: Countries with little to no fixed-line broadband availability therefore rely heavily on mobile data provision. In these cases, mobile data is the primary means the population has of getting online, and adoption is often near-ubiquitous. With a saturated market and many competing providers, often accompanied by a low average wage, data pricing in such countries can be exceptionally cheap when compared globally.
Small consumption: Countries where, although mobile data is widely available and widely used, the basic and/or overburdened infrastructure dictates a limited-use culture. In countries such as these, SIMs tend to be relatively cheap but predominantly available loaded with very small data amounts. In such countries, amounts of 2-5MB and with single-day expiries are not uncommon. When multiplying such small quantities to figure out the cost of a gigabyte, then, such countries tended to find themselves at the most expensive end of the table.
Wealthy economy: Wealthy nations tend to have good mobile infrastructure, decently-sized data caps and relatively healthy markets. Since populations can afford to pay more, and network infrastructure costs that much more to own and run, and provided they haven't reached the 'excellent infrastructure' category where data limits are beyond normal usage or entirely unlimited, data pricing tends towards the global average.
Regions
Here we take a closer look at how pricing is averaged in thirteen global regions, and talk a little about the current state of each with regard to mobile data and pricing
Asia (excl. Near East)
Asian nations make up a third of the top 20 cheapest countries for mobile data, with both India (USD 0.17) and Nepal (USD 0.27) in the top ten. Only three Asian countries are more expensive than the global average of USD 3.12 – Japan (USD 3.85), British Indian Ocean Territory (USD 5.00) and South Korea, the most expensive in the region at USD 12.55.
Baltics
Lithuania is the cheapest of the three with 1GB costing an average of USD 1.17 and sits in 88th place in the world, while in Estonia 1GB costs USD 1.20 on average. Latvia sits in the most expensive half of the list with an average of USD 3.00 although it’s still just below the global average of USD 3.12.
Caribbean
Most Caribbean nations are in the more expensive half of the list but the difference between the most expensive and the cheapest is extreme. The Cayman Islands are the most expensive in the Caribbean with an average of USD 10.43, while an average 1GB in Haiti is 28 times cheaper at USD 0.37.
Central America
The cheapest mobile data plans in Central America can be found in Nicaragua, where 1GB of data costs USD 0.70 on average, and Honduras (USD 0.76). Prices are somewhat steeper in El Salvador (USD 1.27) and Guatemala (USD 1.28). The most expensive country in Central America is Panama, where an average 1GB costs USD 2.98.
CIS (Former USSR)
A number of CIS countries are among the very cheapest in the world for mobile data and all but three sit inside the less expensive half of the table. Kyrgyzstan is sixth-cheapest in the world overall with an average of USD 0.17. At the bottom of the regional table is Turkmenistan (USD 14.27), which is also the seventh most expensive in the world.
Eastern Europe
Within Eastern Europe, Moldova (USD 0.26) is the cheapest followed by Poland (USD 0.41), Romania (USD 0.45) and Montenegro (USD 0.60). Greece is the most expensive in the region, with 1GB of data costing USD 5.30 on average.
Near East
Israel is the cheapest country in the Near East region and also the cheapest in the world, with 1GB costing an average of USD 0.04. Turkey (USD 0.39) is a distant second-cheapest, closely followed by Jordan (USD 0.63) and Iraq (USD 0.68). The most expensive mobile data in the region can be found in Yemen, where the average price of 1GB is USD 16.58.
Northern Africa
All but one of the seven North African countries are in the cheapest half of the table. Algeria is the cheapest at USD 0.48, and the most expensive in the region is Mauritania (USD 2.74). All countries in this region are cheaper than the global average of USD 3.12. Northern Africa is the cheapest region in the world overall.
Northern America
The average price of 1GB of mobile data in all four North American countries is in excess of the global average of USD 3.12, making it the most expensive region overall. Greenland is the cheapest country in the region with an average cost of USD 3.36 and the most expensive is Canada (USD 5.94).
Oceania
The average 1GB of data costs USD 0.15 in Fiji, making it the cheapest country in Oceania, and the 4th cheapest in the world. The region’s island nations are mostly in the more expensive half of the table, with Tokelau being the most expensive at USD 17.88. Australia comes in at second cheapest in the region at USD 0.57, with New Zealand a long way behind – 18th in the region with an average 1GB cost of USD 6.72.
South America
Uruguay, with an average of USD 0.27, Colombia (USD 0.49) and Chile (USD 0.51) are the only South American countries to make it into the top 50 cheapest in the world. Brazil (USD 0.74) is the next cheapest in South America followed by Ecuador (USD 1.00). The most expensive in the region is the Falkland Islands at USD 38.45 – it is also the second most expensive in the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa has just five countries among the top 50 cheapest in the world – Ghana, in 40th place overall, is cheapest in the region at USD 0.61. The region also has five out of the ten most expensive countries in the world, with Saint Helena the most expensive in the world (USD 41.06), joined by São Tomé and Príncipe (USD 29.49), Botswana (USD 15.55), Togo (USD 12.94) and Seychelles (USD 12.66) at the bottom of the table.
Western Europe
The cheapest mobile data in Western Europe is in Italy – in second place overall – where the average price of 1GB is just USD 0.12. San Marino (USD 0.14) is the second-cheapest in Western Europe, followed by France (USD 0.23) and Monaco (USD 0.40). The UK (USD 0.79) is the 7th cheapest in Western Europe and 59th cheapest in the world.
Resources
Downloadable versions of the data set (.xls), the original press release and the research methodology (.pdf)
Press release
If you wish to see the original press release for this research, you can download it here as a PDF.
Methodology
Our research methodology and notes on how to interpret the data can be downloaded here as a PDF.
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