Broadband speed
Published:
11 September 2024
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Data on the percentage of homes and businesses in the UK with gigabit internet capability.
Summary main findings
From 2020 to 2023, the percentage of homes and businesses in the UK with ‘gigabit’ internet capability went up from 27% to 76%. The percentage went up in all 4 countries in the UK.
In 2023, 91% of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland had gigabit internet capability – the highest percentage out of the 4 countries in the UK. Wales had the lowest percentage (63%).
By year
Visualisation
Percentage of homes and businesses with ‘gigabit’ capability, by country over time (UK, 2020 to 2023)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| Year | United Kingdom (%) | England (%) | Scotland (%) | Wales (%) | Northern Ireland (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 76 | 77 | 70 | 63 | 91 |
| 2022 | 69 | 70 | 62 | 51 | 85 |
| 2021 | 46 | 45 | 50 | 35 | 74 |
| 2020 | 27 | 25 | 46 | 18 | 54 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By area
Visualisation
Percentage of homes and businesses with ‘gigabit’ capability, by area (UK, 2023)
41 regions in the UK are ranked from the lowest to highest values. They are then divided into 5 equally-sized groups (‘quintiles’), from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
The regional estimates have a large margin of error – do not rank or compare specific regions. See the composite indices for more precise estimates and to understand overall regional patterns.
Data
| Region | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 82.1 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 77.9 |
| Cheshire | 74.7 |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 45.8 |
| Cumbria | 37.8 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 76.2 |
| Devon | 69.3 |
| Dorset and Somerset | 61.5 |
| East Anglia | 62.5 |
| East Wales | 71.9 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 87.3 |
| Eastern Scotland | 76.6 |
| Essex | 74.3 |
| Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area | 70.5 |
| Greater Manchester | 84.8 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 75.0 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 72.3 |
| Highlands and Islands | 27.7 |
| Inner London - East | 84.1 |
| Inner London - West | 84.2 |
| Kent | 71.3 |
| Lancashire | 73.4 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 84.7 |
| Lincolnshire | 63.1 |
| Merseyside | 83.3 |
| North Eastern Scotland | 57.7 |
| North Yorkshire | 61.9 |
| Northern Ireland | 91.0 |
| Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear | 63.7 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 88.5 |
| Outer London - South | 88.8 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 83.3 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 61.4 |
| South Yorkshire | 77.6 |
| Southern Scotland | 61.3 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 70.0 |
| Tees Valley and Durham | 61.2 |
| West Central Scotland | 85.7 |
| West Midlands | 91.3 |
| West Wales and The Valleys | 57.1 |
| West Yorkshire | 84.3 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source
Office of Communications (Ofcom), Connected Nations Report (2023)
Time period
- 2020 to 2023 (By year)
- 2023 (By area)
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of homes and businesses in the UK with ‘gigabit’ capability.
A gigabit internet connection is capable of average download speeds of at least 1Gbps (gigabits per second) – the same as 1,000 Mbps (megabits per second).
Things you need to know
Data was collected in September of each year.
Type of data
Administrative data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2024 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 10KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Indicator code
- Indicator name
- Area type
- Area code
- Area name
- Time period
- Socio-economic background
- Sex
- Category type
- Category
- Value
- Sample size
- Unit
- Value note
Page history
Publication release date:
11 September 2024