If you’re old enough to remember having to put a wire in your PC, disrupt the phone line and dial up to the internet, you know the real meaning of ‘slow’ internet.
The internet today compared to the good ol days is 1,000,000% better, but our reliance on the internet is probably 1,000,000% more as well.
As Covid-19 expedited the working from home movement, a lot of us are dependent on our internet connection significantly more vs 18 months ago.
Whether you’re buying a property or renting, the property’s internet speed or if the property eligible for fibre is an important question.
So where in the country do you get the best download speeds? Where in the country has the most constraints when it comes to faster connection products? Find the answers below.
[Full tables can be found at the bottom of this article]
Download speeds by region
Those living in the West Midlands receive the fastest download speeds compared to anywhere else in the country, with average download speeds of 82 Mbps, 6 Mbps more than the UK average.
Falling way off the mark is Wales, with 58 Mbps on average – a worrying metric if your day is filled with Zoom calls.
Northern Ireland is the lowest ranked area when it comes to Superfast availability (percentage of lines capable of receiving download speeds of at least 30 Mbps). This means appx 11% of people could face capacity issues during busy household periods.
| Rank | Name | Average download speed (Mbps) | Superfast availability |
| 1 | West Midlands | 82.44622373 | 95.8% |
| 2 | London | 78.26244368 | 96.2% |
| 3 | Yorkshire & Humber | 75.52519988 | 95.7% |
| 4 | East of England | 75.07357153 | 95.5% |
| 5 | North West | 73.99252364 | 96.3% |
| 6 | East Midlands | 73.92834986 | 95.8% |
| 7 | South East | 71.59990657 | 95.6% |
| 8 | North East | 71.59209714 | 95.4% |
| 9 | Scotland | 70.40964759 | 92.9% |
| 10 | South West | 64.83340989 | 91.8% |
| 11 | Northern Ireland | 64.31738525 | 89.0% |
| 12 | Wales | 58.26628198 | 93.2% |
Download speeds by constituency
If you’re for a majority of time going to be working from home, then where you rent/buy may want to factor in the below table – it could be the difference between frantically trying to sit in random places in your house to get a better speed, or sitting in your tower looking down on those with straggling connection issues.
So the top ranked places for download speeds will be in and around London right? Well no, it’s glamorous Hull!
The city enjoys amazing average download speeds of 165.7 Mbps – maybe for those involved in the London exodus, Hull could be a good option?
Birmingham & York also fare well, with multiple areas of the cities in the top 15.
Within the M25, the best ranked areas are Richmond Park (69), Watford (70) and Twickenham (77).
On the lower end of the scale, Argyll and Bute, Tiverton & Honiton. Angus, Devon and Torridge & West Devon are ranked, with many probably pulling their hair out at average speeds of 37 Mbps across the 5 areas.
| Rank | Name | Speed | Superfast |
| 1 | Kingston upon Hull East | 165.7 | 98.9% |
| 2 | Birmingham, Hall Green | 160.9 | 97.8% |
| 3 | Birmingham, Selly Oak | 150.5 | 96.6% |
| 4 | York Central | 147.4 | 93.8% |
| 5 | York Outer | 146.7 | 94.5% |
| 6 | Birmingham, Hodge Hill | 146.4 | 99.5% |
| 7 | Welwyn Hatfield | 137.6 | 97.5% |
| 8 | St Albans | 135.4 | 97.4% |
| 9 | Birmingham, Ladywood | 125.6 | 86.3% |
| 10 | Hitchin and Harpenden | 114.5 | 95.1% |
| 11 | Birmingham, Edgbaston | 111.6 | 94.4% |
| 12 | Haltemprice and Howden | 109.2 | 96.1% |
| 13 | Birmingham, Yardley | 108.2 | 98.8% |
| 14 | Filton and Bradley Stoke | 106.8 | 98.3% |
| 15 | Great Grimsby | 105.4 | 98.0% |
How does the UK compare vs the rest of the world?
Well, not well at all.
In Singapore residents enjoy a whopping speed of 226 Mbps, followed closely by Hong Kong (210 Mbps) and Romania (193 Mbps).
The United Kingdom, as technologically advanced as we think we are, sits 48th in the world, out of 138 ranked countries.
| Rank | Country | Average download speed (Mbps) |
| 1 | Singapore | 226.6 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 210.73 |
| 3 | Romania | 193.47 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 178.81 |
| 5 | Thailand | 175.22 |
| 6 | France | 173.05 |
| 7 | Denmark | 162.08 |
| 8 | Monaco | 162.06 |
| 9 | Hungary | 161.51 |
| 10 | United States | 161.14 |
| 11 | Spain | 157.22 |
| 12 | Liechtenstein | 156.94 |
| 13 | Sweden | 156.34 |
| 14 | South Korea | 155.39 |
| 15 | Macau | 154.57 |
| 48 | United Kingdom | 75 |
Sources & Data Tables
Analysis of Ofcom’s Connected Nations Open Data, World Population Review, Center on Technology, Data and Society
