Internet Connectivity Index 2026: The most welcoming internet – Methodology and data sources

Dimensions of the Internet Connectivity Index 2026

To measure how “welcoming” (accessible and user-friendly) a country's internet is for travelers, we built an index based on four key areas (dimensions). Each dimension consists of a set of carefully chosen attributes that capture what really matters when going online abroad.

Cyber safety

Evaluating a country’s digital security through its infrastructure, response to cyber threats, and legal protections.

Internet quality

Assessing internet speed, stability, accessibility, and coverage, including mobile and broadband connections.

Internet affordability

Understanding the cost of internet access (based on mobile internet plans only).

Internet freedom

Measuring the openness of online access, including restrictions, blocked content, and respect for user rights.

Selection process

We chose the index dimensions and attributes through a careful, step‑by‑step process, outlined below.

Step 1: Building the framework

We started by figuring out the main areas that matter most to people using the internet while traveling. We made sure our framework was based on real experiences to reflect what travelers actually need and care about.

Step 2: Choosing dimensions

We settled on four key dimensions to cover everything that’s important to travelers when connecting to the internet in another country. Each dimension includes several specific factors (attributes) that help us measure how easy and “welcoming” the internet is for visitors.

Step 3: Sourcing data and selecting attributes

Using our framework, we carefully selected the right attributes for each dimension. Then, we found reliable data to support those attributes, making sure we had enough trustworthy information to rate each country.

In developing this index, we focused on real-life experiences of using the internet while traveling, combined with the data available to us.

Our research team also made sure to pick attributes that were different from each other to cover all important parts of each dimension. This approach helped us keep the index accurate and reliable.

How we chose our data sources

We only used data sources that met two key criteria:

Reliability

We only used data from well-known, credible sources. We focused on the newest data available, mostly from 2024, 2025 and 2026, so the index reflects the latest trends and realities. All of the data was analyzed in May 2026.

Coverage

We looked for data that covered as many countries as possible. This way, our index gives a global view and allows fair comparisons between places.

Cyber safety

This dimension looks at how well each country is prepared for digital threats. It covers three main aspects – the strength of its infrastructure, its ability to respond to cybercrime, and legal protections. Together, these attributes make up 25% of the overall index.

• To assess a country’s infrastructure, we used its technical, organizational, and capacity development scores from the Global Cybersecurity Index. Each attribute is weighted at 0.33, and this sub-dimension is weighted at 0.33.

• To assess a country’s ability to respond to cyber threats, we looked at four areas of the National Cybersecurity Index — incident response, crisis management, fighting cybercrime, and military cyber defense. Each attribute is weighted at 0.25, and this sub-dimension is weighted at 0.33.

• Finally, for legal protections, we used data from the National Cybersecurity Index covering cybersecurity policies, protection of personal data, and critical information infrastructure. Each attribute is weighted at 0.33, and this sub-dimension is weighted at 0.33.

Internet quality

This dimension covers the experience of using the internet in each country. A higher score means a more reliable internet experience across the country. The overall weight of this dimension is 0.25.

• We used the Digital Quality of Life Index 2024 to review three main factors — internet speed, stability, and speed growth. We also checked for internet outages using the Internet Shutdown Tracker and gave this factor a negative weighting of 0.1. This sub‑dimension has a total weight of 0.5.

• To evaluate internet accessibility, we reviewed the percentage of the population with network coverage. The data we used came from the DataHub connectivity world map, comparing 3G & 5G access by country. This sub‑dimension also has a weight of 0.5.

Internet affordability

This dimension looks at how much mobile internet costs in a country. The higher the score, the more affordable mobile internet is for travelers in the country. The overall weight of this dimension is 0.25.

• We looked at the average mobile data cost to understand how expensive using the internet in a country is. We reviewed the cost of low-consumption & high-consumption mobile data baskets from DataHub for each country and came up with an average price for each country.

Internet freedom

Finally, we wanted to understand how open a country's internet is. We looked at how easy it is to get online, whether certain websites or platforms are blocked, and any risks when trying to visit restricted sites. The overall weight of this dimension is 0.25.

• We used the Human Freedom Index (2025) to assess this dimension, focusing on the Internet Censorship Effort metric for each country.