According to a report from content delivery company Pando Networks, South Korea has the fastest Internet speeds in the world with an average download speed of over 17 Megabits per second. By comparison, German speeds were barely above 5 Mbps, which was still better than the US or UK. Those countries had average speeds of 4.93 Mbps and 4.79 Mbps respectively. The report is based on data collected on downloads from Pando's content delivery network during the first half of 2011.
Northern European countries were well represented in the top 15, including Sweden (7th), Denmark (9th), Netherlands (11th), Finland (12th) & Norway (15th). Looking at the speed data overlaid on a map, one thing that stands out is how slow Internet speeds are in developed countries with strong content production industries. On the other end of the spectrum, countries where tech industries dominate the economy, including South Korea and Finland, tend to also have relatively fast Internet service. Japan is something of an outlier, likely reflecting the fact they are representative of both categories.
