UK Ranks 58th in the World for the Price of 1GB of Mobile Data
A new study has analysed 5,603 mobile data (mobile broadband) plans from across 237 countries in order to compare the cost of a 1GB (GigaByte) data allowance, which reveals that the United Kingdom slightly improved its rank from 59th in 2022 to 58th in 2023, with an average price of USD $0.62 per GB (down from $0.79).
By comparison, the United States (USA) once again came out of Cable.co.uk‘s annual study as, “rather surprisingly, one of the most expensive nations on the planet for purchasing mobile data“, ranking it just 219th in the world (down from 202nd) – reflecting an average 1GB cost of $6 (up from $5.62 last year). Meanwhile, the cheapest country continues to be Israel ($0.02 per GB) and the most expensive came out as Zimbabwe ($43.75 per GB).
The results for the UK look reasonable, although it should be noted that increasingly high data limits – particularly on 5G based mobile plans – are pushing the most expensive tariffs into the “unlimited data” category, whose price cannot be measured in a study such as this, which aims to compare the cost of 1GB.
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As usual there is also a significant catch to this study because, so far as we can tell, the average prices have not been weighted in order to reflect the often huge differences in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) between countries. In other words, take these results with a big pinch of salt, although they may still be useful for understanding different markets.
The application of PPP is useful because there can be major differences between countries in terms of things like taxation, infrastructure standards or deployment costs and salaries etc. Put another way, you might well pay significantly less for 1GB in some countries, but that’s not always a balanced comparison as local people may not earn as much as those in the UK etc.
We should add that several countries are missing from this report due to either a lack of publicly available data or a lack of comparable data types.
The 2023 Average Cost per 1GB (Mobile Data) by Country
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| Rank. | Country | Avg. Price of 1GB |
| 1 | Israel | $0.02 |
| 2 | Italy | $0.09 |
| 3 | Fiji | $0.09 |
| 4 | San Marino | $0.10 |
| 5 | Cambodia | $0.12 |
| 6 | Pakistan | $0.12 |
| 7 | India | $0.16 |
| 8 | Kyrgyzstan | $0.17 |
| 9 | France | $0.20 |
| 10 | Colombia | $0.20 |
| 11 | Haiti | $0.22 |
| 12 | Bangladesh | $0.23 |
| 13 | Sri Lanka | $0.25 |
| 14 | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | $0.25 |
| 15 | Russian Federation | $0.25 |
| 16 | Ukraine | $0.27 |
| 17 | Indonesia | $0.28 |
| 18 | Uruguay | $0.28 |
| 19 | Moldova | $0.28 |
| 20 | Malaysia | $0.28 |
| 21 | Vietnam | $0.29 |
| 22 | Uzbekistan | $0.30 |
| 23 | Trinidad and Tobago | $0.32 |
| 24 | Montenegro | $0.32 |
| 25 | Martinique | $0.33 |
| 26 | Samoa | $0.36 |
| 27 | Poland | $0.37 |
| 28 | China | $0.38 |
| 29 | Malawi | $0.38 |
| 30 | Mongolia | $0.38 |
| 31 | Nigeria | $0.39 |
| 32 | Brazil | $0.40 |
| 33 | Ghana | $0.40 |
| 34 | Thailand | $0.41 |
| 35 | Kazakhstan | $0.41 |
| 36 | Monaco | $0.42 |
| 37 | Nepal | $0.43 |
| 38 | Turkey | $0.44 |
| 39 | Australia | $0.44 |
| 40 | Peru | $0.45 |
| 41 | Réunion | $0.48 |
| 42 | Spain | $0.48 |
| 43 | French Guiana | $0.49 |
| 44 | Guadeloupe | $0.49 |
| 45 | Somalia | $0.50 |
| 46 | Austria | $0.51 |
| 47 | Kuwait | $0.52 |
| 48 | Finland | $0.52 |
| 49 | Congo (Democratic Republic of) | $0.52 |
| 50 | Romania | $0.54 |
| 51 | Nicaragua | $0.55 |
| 52 | Rwanda | $0.55 |
| 53 | Western Sahara | $0.58 |
| 54 | Serbia | $0.58 |
| 55 | Philippines | $0.59 |
| 56 | Turks and Caicos Islands | $0.59 |
| 57 | Kenya | $0.59 |
| 58 | United Kingdom | $0.62 |
| 59 | Singapore | $0.63 |
| 60 | Morocco | $0.63 |
| 61 | Chile | $0.64 |
| 62 | Egypt | $0.65 |
| 63 | Syria | $0.67 |
| 64 | Mauritius | $0.67 |
| 65 | Sierra Leone | $0.67 |
| 66 | Belarus | $0.67 |
| 67 | Gibraltar | $0.67 |
| 68 | Congo | $0.68 |
| 69 | Ethiopia | $0.68 |
| 70 | Denmark | $0.69 |
| 71 | Taiwan | $0.69 |
| 72 | Jamaica | $0.70 |
| 73 | Bhutan | $0.71 |
| 74 | Mayotte | $0.71 |
| 75 | Algeria | $0.73 |
| 76 | French Polynesia | $0.75 |
| 77 | Jordan | $0.76 |
| 78 | Mozambique | $0.78 |
| 79 | Honduras | $0.78 |
| 80 | Dominican Republic | $0.79 |
| 81 | Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts) | $0.80 |
| 82 | Hong Kong | $0.82 |
| 83 | Libya | $0.82 |
| 84 | Tanzania | $0.84 |
| 85 | Slovenia | $0.84 |
| 86 | Macedonia | $0.86 |
| 87 | Suriname | $0.95 |
| 88 | Armenia | $0.98 |
| 89 | Myanmar | $0.99 |
| 90 | Ecuador | $1.00 |
| 91 | Angola | $1.01 |
| 92 | Afghanistan | $1.02 |
| 93 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $1.03 |
| 94 | Paraguay | $1.04 |
| 95 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | $1.05 |
| 96 | Venezuela | $1.05 |
| 97 | Iraq | $1.07 |
| 98 | St. Pierre and Miquelon | $1.07 |
| 99 | El Salvador | $1.08 |
| 100 | Iceland | $1.08 |
| 101 | Palestine, State of | $1.08 |
| 102 | Burundi | $1.10 |
| 103 | Uganda | $1.11 |
| 104 | Argentina | $1.11 |
| 105 | Dominica | $1.11 |
| 106 | Madagascar | $1.12 |
| 107 | Estonia | $1.15 |
| 108 | Sudan | $1.16 |
| 109 | Guatemala | $1.17 |
| 110 | Côte d’Ivoire | $1.18 |
| 111 | Croatia | $1.19 |
| 112 | Liechtenstein | $1.19 |
| 113 | Tonga | $1.19 |
| 114 | Namibia | $1.20 |
| 115 | Kosovo | $1.25 |
| 116 | Eswatini | $1.26 |
| 117 | Lithuania | $1.26 |
| 118 | Djibouti | $1.26 |
| 119 | Tunisia | $1.28 |
| 120 | Jersey | $1.31 |
| 121 | Bahrain | $1.31 |
| 122 | Mauritania | $1.32 |
| 123 | Papua New Guinea | $1.36 |
| 124 | Macau | $1.44 |
| 125 | Togo | $1.45 |
| 126 | Saudi Arabia | $1.49 |
| 127 | Ireland | $1.50 |
| 128 | Iran | $1.50 |
| 129 | American Samoa | $1.50 |
| 130 | Guinea | $1.51 |
| 131 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | $1.54 |
| 132 | Vanuatu | $1.54 |
| 133 | Albania | $1.55 |
| 134 | Saint Lucia | $1.58 |
| 135 | Saint-Martin (France) | $1.58 |
| 136 | Equatorial Guinea | $1.59 |
| 137 | The Netherlands | $1.61 |
| 138 | Panama | $1.63 |
| 139 | Senegal | $1.63 |
| 140 | Cameroon | $1.63 |
| 141 | Niger | $1.63 |
| 142 | Tajikistan | $1.65 |
| 143 | Guernsey | $1.69 |
| 144 | Luxembourg | $1.70 |
| 145 | Hungary | $1.71 |
| 146 | Azerbaijan | $1.76 |
| 147 | Portugal | $1.79 |
| 148 | Isle of Man | $1.44 |
| 149 | South Africa | $1.81 |
| 150 | Grenada | $1.81 |
| 151 | Aruba | $1.85 |
| 152 | Costa Rica | $1.86 |
| 153 | Bolivia | $1.87 |
| 154 | Anguilla | $1.88 |
| 155 | Brunei Darussalam | $1.89 |
| 156 | Georgia | $1.91 |
| 157 | Lebanon | $1.91 |
| 158 | Timor-Leste | $1.92 |
| 159 | Oman | $1.95 |
| 160 | Lesotho | $1.96 |
| 161 | Botswana | $1.99 |
| 162 | Mexico | $2.03 |
| 163 | Germany | $2.14 |
| 164 | Maldives | $2.16 |
| 165 | Comoros | $2.18 |
| 166 | Belgium | $2.23 |
| 167 | Faroe Islands | $2.24 |
| 168 | Palau | $2.25 |
| 169 | Montserrat | $2.26 |
| 170 | Sweden | $2.33 |
| 171 | Malta | $2.36 |
| 172 | Guyana | $2.36 |
| 173 | Benin | $2.37 |
| 174 | Qatar | $2.40 |
| 175 | São Tomé and Príncipe | $2.41 |
| 176 | Cyprus | $2.41 |
| 177 | Liberia | $2.50 |
| 178 | Guam | $2.50 |
| 179 | Puerto Rico | $2.58 |
| 180 | Cook Islands | $2.62 |
| 181 | Northern Mariana Islands | $2.67 |
| 182 | Slovakia | $2.68 |
| 183 | Curaçao | $2.68 |
| 184 | Caribbean Netherlands | $2.71 |
| 185 | Cuba | $2.71 |
| 186 | Guinea-Bissau | $2.72 |
| 187 | Barbados | $2.75 |
| 188 | Sint Maarten | $2.77 |
| 189 | Greece | $2.79 |
| 190 | Belize | $2.92 |
| 191 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | $3.03 |
| 192 | Nauru | $3.09 |
| 193 | Czech Republic | $3.12 |
| 194 | Niue | $3.14 |
| 195 | Kiribati | $3.19 |
| 196 | Antigua and Barbuda | $3.20 |
| 197 | Latvia | $3.21 |
| 198 | Cape Verde | $3.24 |
| 199 | Burkina Faso | $3.27 |
| 200 | Bermuda | $3.42 |
| 201 | Japan | $3.48 |
| 202 | Gambia | $3.56 |
| 203 | Greenland | $3.58 |
| 204 | New Caledonia | $3.76 |
| 205 | Norway | $4.07 |
| 206 | Gabon | $4.09 |
| 207 | Chad | $4.09 |
| 208 | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | $4.33 |
| 209 | British Indian Ocean Territory | $4.44 |
| 210 | Mali | $4.56 |
| 211 | United Arab Emirates | $4.61 |
| 212 | Andorra | $4.82 |
| 213 | Bahamas | $4.99 |
| 214 | South Korea | $5.01 |
| 215 | Virgin Islands (British) | $5.24 |
| 216 | Canada | $5.37 |
| 217 | Seychelles | $5.43 |
| 218 | New Zealand | $5.89 |
| 219 | United States | $6.00 |
| 220 | Marshall Islands | $6.08 |
| 221 | Tuvalu | $6.08 |
| 222 | Åland Islands | $6.12 |
| 223 | Norfolk Island | $6.39 |
| 224 | Solomon Islands | $6.96 |
| 225 | Micronesia (Federated States of) | $7.11 |
| 226 | Switzerland | $7.29 |
| 227 | Zambia | $8.01 |
| 228 | Cayman Islands | $8.39 |
| 229 | Svalbard and Jan Mayen | $9.00 |
| 230 | Central African Republic | $10.90 |
| 231 | Turkmenistan | $11.42 |
| 232 | Yemen | $15.68 |
| 233 | Tokelau | $17.24 |
| 234 | South Sudan | $23.70 |
| 235 | Saint Helena | $40.13 |
| 236 | Falkland Islands | $40.58 |
| 237 | Zimbabwe | $43.75 |
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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We hear a lot about Germany’s decline as an industrial and economic powerhouse, particularly in the new technology fields. No better illustration than to look at the difference between them and Italy, France and Spain. On the same note, why is there such a big difference between those countries and the UK when users there also have a better experience, certainly in my travels.
I don’t think you can make such judgements. At 2, 9, even 20 cents per GB, it’s pretty clear that the network costs are being recovered through other charges (eg voice) or through state subsidies and the data is being given away. The top end of the table is domninated by countries with interventionist governments and/or graft problems, as well as mostly being states where the geography, operating and legal environment are so different that you can’t compare them with developed world markets.
A perfect example of corporate greed put before anything else.
Not at all
I’d like to know how they get to these figures, for example I’m on a EE Sim Only deal and I pay £0.06 per GB, many SIM only deals are pretty similar.
And you can also pay as much as £10.50 per GB on EE. The price quoted by the study is an average.