The UK Cable company made a detailed study where did one leaderboard overall cost of Mobile data. The average price of a gigabyte (1GB) was calculated and compared from more than 5,000 mobile data plans in 233 countries.
“Many of the cheapest countries in which to buy mobile data fall roughly into one of two categories. Some have excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure, so providers can offer large amounts of data, lowering the price per gigabyte. Others with less advanced broadband networks rely heavily on mobile data and economics dictate that prices need to be low, since that’s what people can afford.
At the more expensive end of the list, we have countries where infrastructure is often not great, but also where consumption is very small. People often buy data packages of just a few tens of megabytes at a time, making a gigabyte a relatively large and therefore expensive amount of data to buy. Many countries in the middle of the list have good infrastructure and competitive mobile markets, and although their prices are not among the cheapest in the world, they would not necessarily be considered expensive by their consumers,” Cable analyst Dan Howdle said.
The cheapest countries
The five cheapest countries in terms of the average cost of 1GB of mobile data are Israel ($0.04), Italy ($0.12), San Marino ($0.14), Fiji ($0.15), and India ($0.17).
Contrary to the most expensive, only one of these countries is an island, and none of them are 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 world leader in 5G provision and continues to top the global table when it comes to the price of data as well. By comparison, much of India’s population relies on mobile data to connect, fueling demand and thus keeping prices low.
most expensive countries
The five most expensive countries in terms of the average cost of 1GB of mobile data are Saint Helena ($41.06), the Falkland Islands ($38.45), Sao Tome and Principe ($29.49), Tokelau ($17.88), and Yemen ($16.58).
The similarities between these five nations are striking and obvious. Two of the five are in sub-Saharan Africa, and four of the five are island nations. Sub-Saharan Africa is the second most expensive region in the world for mobile data overall, while island nations also tend to be among the most expensive.
What happens in Latin America, Spain and the United States
In North America, the average price of 1GB of mobile data in the four countries is higher than the world 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). Mexico is in 162nd place with a price of 2.89 USD.
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 higher in El Salvador (USD 1.27) and Guatemala (USD 1.28). The most expensive country in Central America is Panama, where an average of 1GB costs USD 2.98.
Uruguay, with an average of USD 0.27, Colombia (USD 0.49) and Chile (USD 0.51) they are the only South American countries to enter the top 50 cheapest in the world. Brazil ($0.74) is the next cheapest in South America, followed by Ecuador ($1.00). The most expensive in the region is the Malvinas Island with USD 38.45 – it is also the second most expensive in the world.
Spain while it is also in the top 50 cheapest, with (USD o.60).
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