Muscat – Oman ranked 68th in Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index 2025, down from 56th last year.
The annual study, conducted by the cybersecurity company headquartered in the Netherlands, assesses 121 countries across Internet affordability, Internet quality, digital infrastructure, digital security and a new artificial intelligence (AI) pillar.
Within the GCC, the UAE leads at 44th, followed by Qatar (46th), Saudi Arabia (49th), Bahrain (55th) and Kuwait (73rd). Finland tops the global index, while the United States ranks first in AI despite placing 16th overall.
Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark, said AI has become central to digital competitiveness. “Measuring digital quality of life is no longer possible without looking at AI implementation,” he said. “It shows whether a country is attractive to AI investments and ready to integrate the technology into public services.” He added that strong laws and secure systems are essential as AI expands. “Even some of the highest-ranked countries in AI development still lack strong data protection laws,” he said.
Oman performed strongest in digital infrastructure, taking 40th place. It ranked 55th in Internet affordability and 70th in Internet quality. It placed 60th globally in AI, ahead of 61 countries.
Digital security remained a weak area for Oman, placed 89th, slightly below last year. The sultanate ranked ahead of the UAE (95th) in digital security, but fell behind Saudi Arabia (59th). The category measures how safe users are online.
Internet quality in Oman remains below the global average. Fixed broadband averages 140Mbps, compared to Singapore’s 463Mbps, the fastest worldwide. Mobile internet averages 185Mbps, while the UAE leads globally with 576Mbps. Mobile speeds in Oman have improved 45% since last year, and fixed speeds 26%.
Oman ranks mid-range in affordability. Users must work about five hours 25 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband, compared to 11 minutes 26 seconds in Bulgaria, the world’s cheapest. For mobile Internet, Omanis need to work 38 minutes a month. This is below the global average but more than five times the effort required in Angola, the least expensive market.
Europe continues to lead global digital wellbeing, with Finland, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland occupying the top ranks. Singapore enters the top ten this year. In AI, the US leads, followed by Singapore and South Korea. European leaders include the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
The index uses open-source data from the United Nations, the World Bank and other institutions.
