Albanians have to work 5 hours and 22 minutes to pay the cheapest monthly broadband internet bill, according to a map published by global provider Surfshark. 

The period they have to work is the second-longest in Europe, after Montenegro, at 7 hours and 4 minutes and higher than the global average of 3 hours and 48 minutes and that of Europe at 2 hours and 15 minutes. 

In North Macedonia, you have to work 4 hours and 13 minutes, in Serbia 4 hours and 3 minutes and in Bosnia 3 hours and 7 minutes. Data on Kosovo are missing. 

Even for the mobile internet, Albania is again ranked second in Europe, after Greece, with 26 minutes of work, compared to 43 minutes in Greece. Albanians need to work harder than North Macedonians (12 minutes), Montenegrins (3 minutes), Serbs (5 minutes). While the Italians need to work only 37 seconds. 

According to the Digital Quality of Life Index, Nigerians will need to work an average of 33 hours in order to be able to afford the cheapest broadband monthly contract in the country. This despite the fact that Nigeria has the third-worst speed and the fifth least reliable internet in the study that was conducted in 85 countries of the world. 

Many countries in Latin America have the same problem. Internet is less affordable in the Philippines, Asia, as it requires more than seven hours of average paid work to provide a month of broadband internet, despite its poor quality. 

However, the Asian continent is home to some cheap internet plans. A month of internet costs less than the average hourly wage in Japan, China and Nepal and just a little above it in Indonesia and Singapore. The latter is also home to the fastest broadband connection in the study as well as the most reliable. 

Very convenient and reliable internet links can also be found in Canada, Israel and many European countries. Some Eastern European countries and Iran offer affordable opportunities and great stability but do not rank high in terms of speed. Montenegro ranks as the country with the least affordable internet in Europe, with an equivalent price of seven working hours. 

While high prices for poor services seem seemingly contradictory, the imbalance can be explained by poor infrastructure and lower internet penetration in some countries, translating into a higher cost for a product that has not still matured completely. 

According to the report, the issue of internet costs raises another question mark for families because, on a global average, individuals have to work three hours and 48 minutes a month to pay for even the cheapest broadband package. However, this duration varies depending on the location. In Nigeria, it is almost 34 hours; in Honduras, 10 hours; in the US, 52 minutes; and in Canada, 7 minutes. 

While the Scandinavian countries rank high in terms of overall digital quality of life, they have a higher cost of providing broadband internet than other economically rich countries. For example, in Sweden, it is 1 hour and 46 minutes; in Denmark, 1 hour and 51 minutes; and Norway, 1 hour and 53 minutes. 

There is also a significant difference between the affordability of broadband internet and that of mobile. Globally, mobile internet is almost 23 times more affordable than broadband. The average working time to afford the cheapest 1GB internet on mobile is about 10 minutes. 

However, this duration varies by location: in Israel, it is 17 seconds; in Azerbaijan 19 seconds; in Poland, 24 seconds, and in Greece, it is 43 minutes; in Panama, it is 44 minutes; and in Honduras, 1 hour and 3 minutes.

(Source: Monitor)