Which countries have the fastest internet speeds in Europe?

internet speeds

Every person living and working as a digital nomad has different priorities when it comes to their dream destination. However, what they can pretty much all agree on, is that reliable and preferably fast internet is non-negotiable and an essential box which must be ticked before heading to a new place. Below we’re going to look at European internet speeds and compare countries around the continent.

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The data comes via speedtest.net, one of the best sites out there for measuring internet speeds. It was compiled in October 2023 using median speeds according to their tests in Mbps (rounded up/down to the nearest Mbps). Their figures are updated monthly, so head over there to check out their more recent rankings and to compare European countries with others around the globe.

Read on to find out which European countries have the fastest and slowest internet speeds, both in terms of broadband and mobile. In this article, we have included the internet speeds for both EU and non-EU countries where available.

European Internet Speeds by Country 2023 – Fixed Broadband

CountryInternet Speed (Mbps)
Denmark204
Spain188
France187
Romania179
Switzerland174
Monaco157
Hungary156
Liechtenstein150
Portugal144
The Netherlands143
Poland125
Moldova120
Sweden117
Norway113
Luxembourg107
Malta105
Lithuania104
Finland100
Ireland93
Belgium91
Andorra90
Slovenia87
Germany87
United Kingdom83
Russia82
Latvia79
Austria76
Estonia75
Bulgaria74
Slovakia73
San Marino72
Ukraine71
Serbia70
Cyprus69
Italy67
Czechia64
Kosovo62
Montenegro57
Belarus53
Albania49
Croatia48
Armenia47
Greece46
North Macedonia39
Turkey37
Azerbaijan29
Bosnia and Herzegovina28
Georgia26

As you can see, there’s a pretty wide range here with broadband internet in the fastest countries, around eight times quicker than the slowest ones. Denmark tops this rundown of the fastest internet in Europe by country, but relatively high living costs mean it isn’t exactly a practical destination for digital nomads or remote workers.

There are though several more affordable countries which can take pride in their internet speeds. Romania really stands out with an impressive average speed of 179 Mbps and it is considerably faster than the internet in a host of wealthier countries in Western and Central Europe such as the UK, Austria and Germany. 

Hungary is another affordable country east of the old iron curtain with great internet speeds while Spain also ranks well with the best internet speeds in Europe (broadband) behind Denmark. However you’re unlikely to run into serious trouble in countries midway down the rankings unless you’re doing seriously intensive work, with speeds of 50 Mbps or more, still more than quick enough for most online needs.

At the bottom end, one or two countries in the Balkans and particularly the South Caucasus states of Georgia and Azerbaijan offer some of the slowest internet speeds in Europe.

internet connections

European Internet Speeds by Country 2023 – Mobile

CountryInternet Speed (Mbps)
Norway143
Bulgaria129
Denmark128
The Netherlands120
Portugal101
Sweden99
Finland92
Luxembourg92
Switzerland91
Croatia91
Lithuania84
France83
North Macedonia82
Austria82
Estonia78
Greece69
Latvia68
Belgium68
Cyprus66
Slovenia62
Germany61
Romania53
Czechia52
Malta51
Albania51
Montenegro51
Serbia51
Italy49
Poland47
Hungary46
Kosovo45
Azerbaijan45
Slovakia45
United Kingdom44
Spain40
Turkey36
Georgia36
Ireland34
Moldova31
Ukraine25
Russia25
Bosnia and Herzegovina22
Armenia21
Belarus11

A look at the fastest internet speeds in Europe takes on a slightly different picture when we look at mobile data. Spain and Romania, which ranked in the top five for broadband connections, sink way down the chart with considerably slower mobile networks.

Denmark posts impressive figures again but it is Norway that has comfortably the fastest mobile internet speeds in Europe according to this data (which doesn’t feature every single European country). Portugal, The Netherlands and Bulgaria complete the top five with the latter another strong option for remote workers given the low cost of living.

By contrast, Belarus ranks by far the slowest in terms of mobile internet speeds, with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia not doing much better. However it is worth pointing out that many countries towards the bottom of the above table, would still rank comfortably above halfway in the global rankings and Europe on the whole does boast some of the fastest internet speeds in the world, both in terms of broadband and mobile.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Republic of Ireland has the slowest mobile internet speeds in the EU of the countries where data was available.

Other factors to consider when looking for the best internet in Europe

The above tables provide a pretty good picture of the average speeds across a country as a whole, as of October 2023. However things can change quite quickly with networks in many countries improved and enhanced on a regular basis.

There is significant regional variation in many countries though. For example, some nations have very fast internet in their capital cities and main economic centres, but speeds and coverage can reduce dramatically as you head out into the provincial towns and villages. Therefore the median speeds outlined above may not always be the best indicator of the actual internet speed in the town or city you are heading to.

digital nomad girl

Even within a particular city, much will depend on the kind of internet package and connection you will be using in your accommodation or place of work. If you will be working a lot from home (in an Airbnb for example), it’s worth double checking this in advance and not just assuming you will have fast internet because the country ranks well when it comes to internet speed tests. There’s info here on how Airbnb hosts calculate their internet speeds.

Also, as the above tables demonstrate, fast broadband speeds do not necessarily equate to fast mobile internet speeds. Consider which one will be more important to you. In some cases, mobile speed and coverage is actually a more important barometer, particularly if you’re somebody who likes to work on the move and you use your mobile as a hotspot.

Which countries have the fastest internet speeds in Europe?

Danny is a digital nomad who has travelled extensively in Europe whilst writing about his adventures and closely monitoring his costs. He's a regular writer for nomadguide.eu and has experience of short stays in many of the best and cheapest places to live in Europe whilst working online.

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