Telecommunication in Saudi Arabia

Development of telephone and internet connections

With an average download speed of 85.10 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, Saudi Arabia ranks 43rd in an international comparison. The upload rate of only 28.22 Mbit/second was significantly lower (61st place).
In mobile internet, i.e., on tablets and smartphones, Saudi Arabia comes 10th with a download speed of 97.81 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 16 Mbit was only enough for 21st place.

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in October 2022 from 180 countries.

The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.

Access to the internet in Saudi Arabia from 1990 - 2021

Broadband internet in Saudi Arabia 2001 - 2021

Saudi Arabia is lagging behind in the expansion of broadband internet connections. Around 100 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 29 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications.