These Countries Have the Fastest Wi-Fi

Whether you’re planning your first backpacking trip abroad or you’re a freelancer living the digital nomad lifestyle, easy access to a high-quality Wi-Fi connection should be a key consideration for your travels. Even if you’re planning to spend your days in nature’s most beautiful, faraway scenes, you’ll still want to get the pictures up on Instagram come nightfall – and tell your friends all about it on Facebook. And if you’re planning to get a bit of work done while you’re sipping on daiquiris with your feet dangling into a cool, refreshing pool, then excellent Wi-Fi is non-negotiable.

So, which countries have the most Wi-Fi hotspots and the fastest Wi-Fi connections? Lucky for you, network provider Akamai has done the research and published a telling report that maps out a clear picture of the global Wi-Fi scene.

The report reveals that the countries with the fastest Wi-Fi are South Korea, Ireland, Hong Kong and Sweden, so if it’s ultra-fast internet you’re after, those are your go-to destinations. Norway and Finland also make the top 10, making Scandinavia an attractive Wi-Fi haven.

Of course, it’s all well and good that the Wi-Fi is fast, but you need to be able to access it. This is where the density of Wi-Fi hotspots comes into play. Boingo is a platform that allows users to instantly access over one million hotspots worldwide, and their world map is the perfect visual representation of which countries around the globe make it easy for travellers to find Wi-Fi.

Looking at the map, you’ll notice there do appear to be Wi-Fi hotspots located seemingly in the middle of nowhere – in the vast waters of the Arabian Sea, for example. But if you’d rather not restrict yourself to floating in one spot in a boat in order to stay online, you’re better off looking at the countries more densely populated with hotspots.

Topping the list is USA, France, Portugal and the UK, with Sweden and South Korea also making the top 10. So whether you’re after a taste of Hollywood glamour, Portuguese port, or some authentic Kimchi, you’ll have no trouble trying to find Wi-Fi to connect to. Sharing your globetrotting experiences with your friends, family and followers back home has never been easier.

So, now you know which countries to go to, but where exactly are these hotspots? As expected, most of the connections are found in the hottest tourist destinations. This makes it easy to tick off popular bucket list items without ever going off the grid.

But should you choose to take the road less travelled, there is plenty of Wi-Fi to be found off the beaten track in those less touristy places, namely at bars, cafes and restaurants. By making use of this second option, you’ll be able to explore the less metropolitan areas without losing that metropolitan connection. There’s nothing better than speedy and reliable internet in an unexpected place – especially when accompanied by a bit of local cuisine!

Using the Boingo map, you’ll be able to pre-plan your travels to ensure you always know where the nearest internet connection is, so you can stay in touch with home no matter how far away you are. And even if you don’t plan ahead, there’s probably a Boingo hotspot just around the corner, provided you haven’t chosen to take the road never travelled.

All you have to do to access this central hub of global Wi-Fi is become part of the Boingo community. We’ve made that part pretty simple by adding it as a complementary feature of our Latitude 28° Global Platinum Mastercard.

With Latitude 28° Global, you will have free and direct access to every Boingo Wi-Fi connection on the planet. The best part is, once you’ve set it up on your device, it’s completely hassle-free. Forget browsing available networks, signing in and remembering passwords. Whenever you’re in range of a Wi-Fi zone, your device will simply connect. It’s that easy. And with the highest level of public Wi-Fi encryption, you can be assured your connection will be safe and secure everywhere, every time.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to book those flights and pack those bags. Remember to pack your chargers, too (and any international power plug converters you might need), so you are ready to go online wherever in the world you find Wi-Fi.

Still not sure which destination to pick for your next trip? We’ve got plenty of ideas and travel hacks to inspire you, or you could simply start with South Korea. After all, they do have the fastest internet connection in the world.

Just in case you were wondering, when it comes to internet speed, Australia is as low as 50th on the list. So if you were worried about keeping in touch while you’re away, think again - you might just find you’ve got faster internet abroad than at home.