According to Ookla, the global median mobile internet speed reached 113.16 Mbps in May 2026. The UAE secured the top spot in the global rankings with a blazing 642.86 Mbps. Following closely were Qatar (570.41 Mbps), Kuwait (373.62 Mbps), Bahrain (271.06 Mbps), and Brazil (266.32 Mbps). The top ten was rounded out by Brunei (254.2 Mbps), South Korea (245.17 Mbps), Saudi Arabia (226.17 Mbps), Vietnam (210.85 Mbps), and Bulgaria (209.95 Mbps). Remarkably, even the country at the bottom of the top ten boasted a median mobile internet speed nearly double the global average.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bolivia recorded the slowest mobile internet speed in the rankings at 15.96 Mbps. It was preceded by Afghanistan (17.79 Mbps), Libya (22 Mbps), Bosnia and Herzegovina (28.65 Mbps), and Venezuela (29.21 Mbps).
In Central Asia, Kazakhstan currently maintains its lead, though its advantage is slipping. In the May global rankings, Kazakhstan placed 56th out of 101 countries. Uzbekistan ranked 77th, while Kyrgyzstan landed in 82nd place. Uzbekistan's median mobile internet speed rose steadily from 52.47 Mbps in January to 57.77 Mbps in April, reaching 61.03 Mbps by May. This marks a 16.3% increase since January and a 5.6% bump over the last month. Conversely, Kazakhstan’s median mobile internet speed sat at 100.2 Mbps in January 2026, dipped to 89.16 Mbps in April, and slid further to 88.11 Mbps in May. This reflects a 12.1% drop since January and a 1.2% decline over the final month. Consequently, Kazakhstan’s lead over Uzbekistan narrowed from 47.73 Mbps in January to 31.39 Mbps in April, and down to 27.08 Mbps in May.
Meanwhile, mobile internet speeds in Kyrgyzstan remained largely stagnant since the start of the year: recording 51.48 Mbps in January, 52.04 Mbps in April, and 51.56 Mbps in May. While the figure edged down by 0.9% over the last month, it has held virtually flat since January.
Despite its speed improvements, Uzbekistan slipped from 76th place in January to 77th in May, while Kyrgyzstan dropped from 77th to 82nd. For Uzbekistan, this drop in ranking occurred despite a literal increase in speed, meaning other countries in the index accelerated at a much faster pace. Kazakhstan’s ranking trajectory fluctuated from 50th in January to 49th in February, 51st in March, 52nd in April, and down to 56th by May—losing four spots in the last month alone and six since the beginning of the year.
Among the analyzed Central Asian cities, Astana secured the highest position. The Kazakh capital ranked 79th globally, boasting a median mobile internet speed of 120.7 Mbps. Almaty followed in 84th place with a speed of 115.55 Mbps. Notably, both cities outperformed the global median average of 113.16 Mbps. Meanwhile, Samarkand landed in 93rd place (94.54 Mbps), closely followed by Tashkent in 94th (92.44 Mbps). Bishkek trailed significantly, positioning itself at 125th place with a median mobile internet speed of 50.76 Mbps.
Since the beginning of the year, median mobile internet speeds in Kazakhstan's major hubs have dropped noticeably. In Almaty, speeds slid from 148.06 Mbps in January to 120.67 Mbps in April, and down to 115.55 Mbps in May. This represents a 22% plunge since January and a 4.2% dip over the final month. Consequently, the "Southern Capital" rapidly plummeted in global city rankings. It held 60th place in January, dropped to 77th in April, and fell to 84th by May—marking a 24-spot descent since January and a 7-spot loss in the last month alone. In Astana, the median speed dropped from 146.09 Mbps in January to 120.24 Mbps in April. May saw a marginal recovery to 120.7 Mbps—a 0.4% monthly increase—but the speed remains 17.4% lower than its January levels. This slight monthly uptick failed to salvage the capital's ranking; Astana went from 62nd in January to 78th in April, and down to 79th in May, losing 17 positions since the start of the year and one over the last month.
In stark contrast to the slumping numbers in both Kazakh metropolises, Tashkent substantially boosted its performance. Its median mobile internet speed climbed from 72.69 Mbps in January to 87.64 Mbps in April, reaching 92.44 Mbps in May. This marks an impressive 27.2% surge since January and a 5.5% increase over the last month. Accordingly, the Uzbek capital climbed the global ladder, moving from 102nd place in January to 96th in April, and settling at 94th in May—gaining eight spots since January and two in the final month. In Samarkand, speeds edged up from 90.23 Mbps in January to 94.45 Mbps in April, and 94.54 Mbps in May. While this reflects a 4.8% increase since January, progress flattened over the last month. As a result, the city slipped from 88th place in January to 93rd in May, proving that its growth rate was too slow to maintain its original rank. Meanwhile, Bishkek’s median mobile internet speed dipped from 53.46 Mbps in January to 50.06 Mbps in April before recovering slightly to 50.76 Mbps in May. Although the Kyrgyz capital saw a 1.4% bump over the last month, its speed is still down 5.1% since January, pushing Bishkek’s global rank down from 122nd to 125th.
The advantage that Kazakhstan’s major metropolises hold over the capital of Uzbekistan is rapidly evaporating. In January, Astana outpaced Tashkent by 73.4 Mbps, but by May, that lead had shrunk to just 28.26 Mbps. Similarly, the gap in median mobile internet speeds between Almaty and Tashkent plummeted from 75.37 Mbps to a mere 23.11 Mbps over the exact same period.
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