While still very much in the development stage, the Metaverse is causing in equal parts hype and controversy from the press, consumers, and investors alike. Within just the first five months of 2022, companies including Meta (previously Facebook) invested over $120 billion into its technology and infrastructure.
A real Metaverse world would require both virtual and augmented reality headsets. These create a network of 3D worlds users can interact with. A study by iceConnect estimated that such a network requires an astronomical broadband speed of at least 1,000Mbps. Ensure you have the fastest speeds possible by checking out these fibre broadband deals.
Not only does Metaverse broadband need to be quick, it needs to be affordable and accessible too. This requires a strong foundation in the technology, including in payments through the blockchain, to make such an advanced, data-heavy system usable for people’s everyday activities.
So, which nations around the world are most ready for the Metaverse once it eventually, or ever, becomes available to the masses? And if you’re looking to improve your own internet speeds, be sure to compare broadband deals with Uswitch to get the best price.
The most Metaverse-ready nations
1. Netherlands - Metaverse Readiness Score 7.74/10
Median fixed broadband speed - 106.51Mbps
Monthly broadband package - $46.17
Blockchain financial services startups - 14.77 per million people
High-technology exports - $5,770 per capita
Annual Google searches - 24,137 per million people
The Netherlands ranks as the country most ready for the Metaverse, according to our metrics. It has one of the highest median fixed broadband speeds of 106.51Mbps, suggesting it is one of the closest countries to reaching the fundamentally required speeds for the Metaverse.
The Netherlands also produced $5,770 of high-technology exports per capita in 2021, positioning it as one of the leaders in high-tech production.
Switzerland - Metaverse Readiness Score 7.61/10
Median fixed broadband speed - 122.76Mbps
Monthly broadband package - $63.73
Blockchain financial services startups - 36.91 per million people
High-technology exports - $4,391 per capita
Annual Google searches - 30,238 per million people
The second most Metaverse-ready country is Switzerland. With high-tech exports only just behind the Netherlands at $4,391 per capita, Switzerland has also seen a massive 36.91 blockchain financial services start-ups, which will be key players in the future of the Metaverse.
Switzerland is also the nation with the most Google searches about the Metaverse per million citizens, with over 30,000 per million people last year.
Lithuania - Metaverse Readiness Score 7.39/10
Median fixed broadband speed - 87.21Mbps
Monthly broadband package - $11.13
Blockchain financial services startups - 17.17 per million people
High-technology exports - $1,111 per capita
Annual Google searches - 10,625 per million people
Lithuania currently offers some of the cheapest broadband packages on this list, at just $11.13. With a decent number of 17.17 blockchain financial services start-ups per million people, Lithuania ranks as the 3rd most ready nation for the Metaverse.
Over the last year, there were over 10,000 searches for the Metaverse for every million residents in Lithuania, and the country generated $1,111 per capita of high-tech exports.
Where has the fastest internet?
United States - 167.36Mbps
The country with the fastest average download speed is the US, at 167.36Mbps. The US is a very well-connected country in terms of broadband, so it makes sense that it would also provide the fastest speeds.
The US has the third highest number of internet users, behind China and India, with over 90% of the population using it.
Where has the cheapest internet?
Romania - $9.00 per month
The cost of a monthly internet package varies greatly around the world, but the most affordable nation on this list is Romania.
Here, a monthly package costs about $9.00, which is around three-quarters cheaper than the average of each of these countries listed.
Where has the most blockchain startups?
Cyprus - 42.8 per million people
Blockchain technology will play an important role in the Metaverse, allowing users to purchase and trade using cryptocurrencies and NFTs. These are reportedly essential to the proposed ‘Metaverse economy’ that Meta hopes to grow as part of this ambitious project.
Looking per million people, Cyprus is home to the most blockchain startups. Cryptocurrency isn’t regulated in Cyprus, with the government taking a positive stance on crypto and blockchain.
Which country has the most high-tech exports?
The Republic of Ireland - $8,450 per capita
The Republic of Ireland exports around $42.5 billion worth of high-tech goods a year, which equates to $8,450 per person.
The country has attracted several big tech multinationals from the US such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook-owner Meta, each of which makes a big contribution to the economy.
Which country is making the most Metaverse searches?
Cyprus - 34,082 Google searches per million people
Cyprus comes out on top for another factor, this time the number of people searching for information about the Metaverse.
One of the country’s universities recently launched an “Open Metaverse Initiative”, focused on promoting the Metaverse, this comes after previously launching the world’s first cryptocurrency degree in 2014.
The importance of education when using the Metaverse
There have been several concerns about the future of the Metaverse, and just how it will affect users. Education on safe use and increased awareness of the potential risks of the Metaverse is key to preventing problems in the future, just as it continues to be with the internet.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that the Metaverse is currently in a very novel, limited state, with lots of uncertainties about where it will go next or what services it will provide.
This means it could very easily be viewed as a potential get-rich-quick scheme, but to do so would be very risky. While there certainly is an opportunity to make revenue from the Metaverse, you shouldn’t take unreasonable risks.
Another concern about the Metaverse is how it will be moderated. This is especially concerning Facebook’s history and when it comes to the safety of children. So it pays to be extremely vigilant with what your children are accessing.
You should know how to block users or limit inappropriate content on the particular apps you or your children are using. It’s also important to be very careful about what kind of data and information you share via the Metaverse.
And as with any technology, it’s important to take breaks too, but this is especially crucial when it comes to the Metaverse due to its immersive nature.
Read our guides on how to stay safe online and how to set up parental controls for more advice on how you can do this.
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FAQs
What is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a virtual reality in which users control avatars to represent themselves, communicate with others, and interact with the virtual world. In the Metaverse, users move around a virtual world very similar to the physical world, using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets.
Is the Metaverse safe?
As with the internet as a whole, there are risks that come with using the Metaverse. This is particularly true for younger users, with few age limits in place to protect them.
Some of the risks involved with the Metaverse include unwanted contact with strangers and access to inappropriate content.
Ultimately, there are risks associated with the Metaverse just as there are with the internet in general, so it’s important to be careful when using it.
What internet speed is required for the Metaverse?
Large amounts of data need to be transmitted to create the virtual reality worlds of the Metaverse.
While it’s not clear exactly how this will translate into required internet speeds, according to iceConnect it’s thought that a download speed of around 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) will be needed.
Of course, this depends on exactly what you’re doing. For example, if you’re only viewing content on the Metaverse, the requirements could be slightly lower.
Methodology and sources
A seed list of developed and developing economies was created from which the rest of the factors were investigated.
- Median internet speeds per country were taken from Speedtest.
- Average monthly broadband costs were taken from Cable.co.uk.
- The number of blockchain financial start-ups per 100,000 people was taken from Tracxn. Data for Oslo and Ljubljana was used in place of Norway and Slovenia, which were missing national-level data. Data was also missing for Malta, Latvia and Croatia, so this factor was excluded when calculating the final score for these countries.
- High technology exports ($US) were taken from the World Bank.
- Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to find the annual search volume per country.
Each country was given a normalised score out of 10 for each factor before taking an average of these scores to create the Metaverse-ready scores.
