Internet speed analysis company Ookla released the latest Internet speed test data for January 2025, allowing us to understand the Internet performance of various countries at the beginning of the year. In terms of fixed broadband, the global median download and upload speeds were 97.61Mbps and 52.84Mbps respectively, with a latency of 9ms. Singapore continued its lead from last year, with a median download speed of 336.45Mbps and a median upload speed of 275.30Mbps.
The United Arab Emirates (310.05Mbps), Hong Kong (305.71Mbps), France (287.44Mbps) and Iceland (281.95Mbps) round out the top five. Meanwhile, the United States still ranks seventh with download speeds of 274.16Mbps.
There are various reasons why we may need such fast internet speeds in 2025. For example, services such as game streaming, cloud processing of artificial intelligence workloads, and 4K/8K video streaming on platforms such as YouTube and Netflix are increasing.
Historical data shows that global median download speeds have increased by approximately 5.7Mbps since January 2024, when it was recorded at 91.93Mbps. Since January last year, however, Singapore has seen an even steeper rise, reaching around 60Mbps.
Ookla shared broadband speed test data from 152 countries. So, speaking of tailgaters, Syria and Cuba rank second to last with median download speeds of around 3Mbps.
The picture is even more startling for mobile internet, with the global median download speed at 91.24, which is on par with fixed broadband. According to previous data from Ookla, the global median download speed was 50Mbps last year, but this year it doubled in advance.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) leads the way in mobile internet with a median download speed of 545.94Mbps, compared with 302.38Mbps in January last year. Followed by Qatar, Kuwait, China and Denmark round out the top five. The UAE has consistently topped the list in recent years, mainly due to fierce competition between its two major operators, Etisalat Bye & Du.