Do you feel often angry or disappointed with your download speeds? Find out if you are taking it for granted in this report featuring the countries with the slowest internet connection in Europe

Most reports or news about internet speed tend to focus in which companies or countries have the fastest internet, but in this unusual report, you will find what countries have the slowest internet connections in europe

From government influence to broadband share of total connections, there is a number factors that influence your country’s internet speed. This post will explain briefly some of these factors and also help you to compare your local internet speed in an European context.

All data found here was extracted from a report published quarterly by a company called Akamai, which is a content delivery network with a diverse portfolio with clients ranging from Airbnb to Autotrader.

The report published by Akamai is called “the state of the internet” and can be found here. It features not only internet speeds but also the adaption of IPv6 and digital security profiles of most countries around the world.

The Speed of Internet in Europe

On a global scale, Europe positions itself with fairly high internet speeds, thanks to relatively open markets, decent infrastructure and good efforts of research in technology.

Some of the fastest internet countries in the world are in Europe, but the number one is still South Korea, which is not a surprise, again.

Sweden has the fastest internet speed in the continent as we enter 2016, with a average connection of 17.5 Mpbs. This number will be a reference as we check the countries with the slowest internet connection in Europe.

Countries with the slowest internet connection in Europe

5 – Belarus

Internet speed: 6Mbps

Belarus was a former state of the Soviet Union, but it’s internet rank is worse than all of its neighbors in the region. A highly state-owned economy certainly does not help Belarus to improve it’s tech infrastructure.

4 – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Internet speed: 5.7Mbps

A turbulent past and having a country still de facto divided in two (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska) have not contributed for the development of telecommunications infrastructure in this Southeastern European nation.

3 – Croatia

Internet speed: 5.5Mbps

Despite being a member of the European Union and a relatively wealthy country, Croatia certainly doesn’t have a favorable geographical profile for the spread of broadband internet, having a great part of its territory in the Dinaric Alps and a significant number of habited islands.

2 – Albania

Internet speed: 5Mbps

Albania is officially the poorest country of Europe in GDP per capita terms, it certainly doesn’t attract a lot of investment from Telecom companies. Poor business conditions and low GDP are the main factors behind Albania’s low internet speed.

1 – Montenegro

Internet speed: 4.6Mbps

Montenegro currently holds the first place in the ranking of the countries with the slowest internet connection in Europe. Montenegro got independent just in 2006, and with a population of less than 1 million people and a highly mountainous landscape, certainly they didn’t have the opportunity to build a better infrastructure for internet in this tiny Balkan nation.