Kenya ranks poorly in digital quality of life and AI development as Finland, US top

Kenya has scored poorly in the latest digital quality life and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This is according to the seventh edition of Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2025, which ranked Kenya 95th globally, six position down from the 2024 ranking where Kenya was at the 89th position.

The study assesses countries’ overall digital wellbeing across five areas: internet affordability, internet quality, digital infrastructure, digital security and artificial intelligence.

In the ranking, Kenya lags behind South Africa at position 75th, but outperforms Nigeria at position 97th.

Finland tops the index, while the US leads the artificial intelligence pillar despite ranking 16th overall.

Kenya performed best in digital security, claiming 72nd place, but faced challenges in internet quality, ranking 111th.

The nation ranks 84th in AI, a newly introduced pillar in this year’s edition, 91st in internet affordability, and 105th in digital infrastructure.

“Measuring digital quality of life is no longer possible without looking at AI implementation, which is why we made AI one of the core pillars of our global benchmark report. It shows whether a country is attractive to AI investments and ready to integrate the technology into its public services,” said Tomas Stamulis, chief security officer at Surfshark.

He added: “Higher positioning in AI development can streamline routine work, create new job positions, enhance public services and support sustainable economic growth. Since AI is here to stay, all countries should start prioritising reliable nationwide connectivity.”

That, he said, includes modernising and securing information technology systems, training and reskilling their workforce, and adopting clear laws with effective oversight.

“However, what is concerning is that even some of the highest‑ranked countries in AI development still lack strong data protection laws, which is essential when processing large volumes of sensitive information,” said Stamulis.

Kenya ranks lower in artificial intelligence than 69 per cent of the countries analysed, with 83 countries above.

It is 72nd in the world in digital security, three places lower than last year 

In the digital security pillar, Kenya outperformed South Africa, which ranks 79th, but lags behind Nigeria, which takes 58th place.

Kenya’s internet quality is lower than the global average, ranking 111th globally with its fixed internet averages 30Mbps. The world’s fastest fixed internet is Singapore’s with 463Mbps.