Doha: The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) announced that Qatar has once again achieved one of the world’s highest scores in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Development Index (IDI) 2026, published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), reaffirming Qatar’s position among the world’s leading digital economies.
Qatar recorded 98.4 points out of 100 in this year’s Index, achieving the sixth-highest score among the 159 economies assessed. This achievement reflects the country’s continued progress in advancing digital infrastructure, expanding connectivity, ensuring affordable telecommunications services, and promoting widespread Internet usage.
The ICT Development Index is an internationally recognised benchmark that measures countries’ progress toward Universal and Meaningful Connectivity, defined by the ITU as the ability for everyone to access the Internet in optimal conditions, at an affordable cost, whenever and wherever needed. The Index evaluates performance across internationally indicators covering connectivity infrastructure, Internet adoption, affordability, and data usage.
Qatar achieved the maximum score of 100.0 in the Universal Connectivity pillar and 96.7 in the Meaningful Connectivity pillar. The country also continues to demonstrate one of the world’s most advanced telecommunications infrastructures, supported by 99% population coverage of 5G networks, 100% fiber population coverage, and the second-highest fixed broadband data traffic globally, averaging almost 1,000 GB per subscription per month.
The ITU noted in its report that countries across all regions continue to make progress toward Universal and Meaningful Connectivity. It also highlighted that high-income economies are approaching the upper limits of connectivity performance, leaving limited room for further improvement in infrastructure-related indicators.
Against this backdrop, Qatar’s continued achievement of a score of 98.4 underscores the maturity of its digital ecosystem and the sustained effectiveness of its telecommunications policies and regulatory frameworks.
These results reflect Qatar’s success in fostering an enabling regulatory environment that promotes investment and innovation while supporting the continued development of advanced telecommunications infrastructure.
This has contributed to the delivery of high-quality communications services that advance the country’s digital transformation, strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy, and enhance the experience of individuals and businesses.
The achievement further reaffirms the State of Qatar’s continued commitment to developing an integrated, inclusive, and sustainable digital ecosystem in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, the Third National Development Strategy, and the Digital Agenda 2030, reinforcing the country’s position as one of the world’s leading digitally connected nations.
These results reflect the State of Qatar’s success in fostering a supportive regulatory environment that encourages investment and innovation while contributing to the development of advanced telecommunications infrastructure. This has allowed the country to deliver high-quality telecommunications services that support its digital transformation journey, strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy, and enhance the experience of both individuals and businesses.
