Doha, August 24 (QNA) - The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) announced that the State of Qatar has once again achieved one of the world's highest scores in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Development Index (IDI) 2026, according to International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Qatar recorded 98.4 points out of 100 in this year's Index, achieving the sixth-highest score among the 159 economies assessed.

Qatar achieved the maximum score of 100.0 in the Universal Connectivity pillar and 96.7 in the Meaningful Connectivity pillar, and the second-highest fixed broadband data traffic globally, averaging almost 1,000 GB per subscription per month.

This achievement reflects the country's continued progress in advancing digital infrastructure, expanding connectivity, ensuring affordable telecommunications services, and promoting widespread Internet usage. The country also continues to demonstrate one of the world's most advanced telecommunications infrastructures, supported by 99 percent population coverage of 5G networks, 100 percent fiber population coverage.

The ITU 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.

The ICT Development Index is an internationally recognized 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. (QNA)