Viet Nam’s e-security index improved by 54 percent since last year but its internet became less affordable, the 2021 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) conducted by cybersecurity company Surfshark showed.

Visitors at Vietnam Internet Day 2020. Viet Nam’s e-security index improved by 54 percent in 2021 (Photo: VNA)

The third annual report has placed Viet Nam 73rd among 110 countries, down 19 places compared to the previous year.

Covering 90 percent of the global population, the study evaluates countries based on five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars. Viet Nam shows its best results in internet affordability (ranking 51st), but lags behind with internet quality (86th), e-government (75th), e-security (71st), and e-infrastructure (67th).

Vietnamese people have to work one minute 45 seconds to afford the cheapest mobile internet and two minutes 53 seconds to access the cheapest broadband internet. Despite a 62 percent year-on-year decrease, the country still has quite affordable internet access compared to the global average (10 minutes for 1GB of mobile internet).

E-security is also a bright spot in Viet Nam’s performance picture as the country’s index improved by 54 percent since last year thanks to the improvement of data protection laws. However, the country still remains on the lower end of the list, coming in 71st place worldwide, due to a decline in cybersecurity.

In the all-around picture, six out of 10 countries with the highest scores are located in Europe, with Denmark topping the list for the second year in a row and is closely followed by the Republic of Korea.

Source: VNA