Internet Connection Speeds in South Korea Rise 29 Percent to 14.6 Mbps

Unsurprisingly, Internet connection speeds continue to grow worldwide as proven by the latest State of the Internet report from Akamai, the distributed computing and content delivery provider. The data is based on the connections to the Akamai network from various countries and cities, so it's not a comprehensive view, but given the company's size and traffic numbers, it provides a pretty accurate picture. Worldwide, the Internet connection speed average grew in the third quarter of 2009 by 13 percent on a yearly basis and by 18 percent quarter-over-quarter reaching 1.7 Mbps.

When it comes to average connection speeds, the top 10 list doesn't hold any surprises, with just a few shuffles in the middle of the chart. South Korea leads by a very safe margin and has actually seen the biggest rise in Q3 among the top countries. South Korea has an average connection speed of 14.6 Mbps, up 29 percent from the previous quarter and 13 from the previous year.

Coming up behind is Japan with significantly smaller figure of just 7.9 Mbps also on the rise, up 8.2 percent quarterly and 11 percent from Q3 2008. Coming in third place, Hong Kong is just below Japan with an average speed of 7.6 Mbps. The following two European countries, Romania and Sweden, actually saw a drop in average speed from Q2 of 0.1 percent and 5 percent respectively, averaging 6.2 Mbps and 5.9 Mbps.

On a yearly basis, Ireland saw the biggest rise out of the top 10 with a whooping 73 percent increase in average connection speeds from Q3 2008. The US came in the 18th place with a connection speed of 3.9 Mbps, an actual decrese of 2.4 percent from the previous year.

When it comes to broadband speeds, 5 Mbps and above, the chart looks pretty much the same. South Korea leads with 74 percent of connections being faster, followed by Japan with 60 percent. In Hong Kong, 46 percent of connections are above 5 Mpbs, in Romania 42 percent and in Sweden 39 percent. Globally, the figure is at 19 percent.