The UK-based price comparison website, Cable.co.uk, has recently released a report on the price of mobile data in 233 countries, giving us all insights on the cost of mobile data in 2022. The report took into account more than 5,000 plans and came with an average cost of 1 GB of data in each country. So how did Canada and other countries do and what are some interesting facts the report revealed?
Both Canadians, as well as new immigrants to Canada, have been complaining for years about the pricey wireless plans the carriers offer, but is the reality really that bad? The answer is yes and no. According to the report, out of the 233 countries, Canada landed in 204th place, making it the 29th most expensive country in the world for 1 GB of mobile data. So yes, there are 203 countries that provide their people with more affordable mobile data. On the other hand, there are still 28 countries with more expensive mobile data plans, making the situation in Canada not so dire after all.
The report reveals that 52 Canadian plans have been taken into consideration, with the cheapest of them priced at $2.17 CAD per 1 GB of data, and the most expensive priced at $60 CAD per 1 GB of data. All in all, the report concluded that the average cost of 1GB was $7.75 CAD in 2022, which equals $5.94 USD. This price might not seem so dramatic, that is until you compare it with the first 72 countries on the list and realize that in those countries, the price for 1 GB of data is less than $1.00 USD. Additionally, although the average price of 1GB dropped from $13.21 USD in 2019 to $12.55 USD in 2020, we do not see a similar tendency between 2021 and 2022. In fact, according to the historical data, the price itself increased from $5.72 USD in 2021 to the mentioned $5.94 USD in 2022.
As for the countries that ranked worse than Canada, those include for example Finland, Andorra, New Zealand, Qatar, Barbados, Switzerland, Seychelles, and others. The top 5 with the most expensive average 1 GB mobile data are Saint Helena ($41.06 USD), followed by Falkland Islands ($38.45 USD), São Tomé and Príncipe ($29.49 USD), Tokelau ($17.88 USD), and Yemen ($16.58 USD). It is noteworthy to mention that out of the 28 countries that finished worse than Canada, 8 are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is considered the second most expensive region for mobile data as stated in the press release from Cable.co.uk, and 15 of them are islands and islands tend to offer more expensive plans which might be caused by the lack of competition.
On the other end of the spectrum, we find countries like Israel ($0.04 USD), Italy ($0.12 USD), San Marino ($0.14 USD), Fiji ($0.15 USD), and India ($0.15 USD) which were ranked as the most affordable and thus least expensive countries for buying 1 GB of mobile data. Israel has various carriers offering both 4G LTE and 5G networks with a lot of data included in their plans, Italy offers 5G to approximately 95% of the country, while San Marino achieved a full 100% 5G coverage. Fiji, although being an island, is a popular tourist destination and the government took steps to regulate the data rate, plus the telecom companies invest heavily in their infrastructure. In the case of India, the cheap prices can be explained by the nation’s strong reliance on mobile data which pushes the prices lower.
Region-wise, you can find the best mobile data deals in Northern Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Baltics, and Central America, whereas the least budget-friendly mobile data can be found in Northern America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Oceania, and Near East.
