Internet Access in High Schools by Country (2026)

Internet access in high schools (upper secondary schools, ISCED Level 3) is critical for preparing students for higher education and professional careers in the digital economy. High schools, commonly known as upper secondary schools in educational terminology, typically serve grades 10-12 or ages 15-18 and require robust internet connectivity to support advanced coursework, online research, digital collaboration, and development of essential 21st-century skills. This indicator tracks the proportion of high schools with access to internet for pedagogical purposes, a key component of SDG Indicator 4.a.1 monitored by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. This comprehensive analysis examines internet access in high schools across 130+ countries, providing 2026 projections grounded in country-specific assessments and historical development patterns from 2010 to 2025.

Global Internet Connectivity in High Schools

Internet access in high schools (upper secondary schools) demonstrates significant global variation, with developed nations achieving near-universal connectivity while many developing countries face substantial infrastructure gaps. As of 2026, approximately 40% of countries have achieved or will maintain 80%+ internet access in their high schools, while roughly 30% of countries face coverage below 40%. High schools typically have higher internet access rates than middle schools (lower secondary schools) in most countries, reflecting their concentration in urban areas and their role in preparing students for university and professional environments where digital skills are essential.

The highest-performing regions include Europe, North America, East Asia, and the Gulf states, where internet access in high schools has reached near-universal or universal levels. Countries like Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have maintained 95%+ connectivity for extended periods. Meanwhile, rapidly developing nations such as India, Vietnam, and Rwanda demonstrate remarkable progress in extending digital infrastructure to high schools, though significant urban-rural divides persist.

Internet Access in High Schools by Country (2026)

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#	Country	2026 Projection (%)
1	Aruba AW	100%
2	Andorra AD	100%
3	United Arab Emirates AE	100%
4	Armenia AM	100%
5	Australia AU	100%
6	Austria AT	100%
7	Belgium BE	100%
8	Bahrain BH	100%
9	Belarus BY	100%
10	Bhutan BT	100%
11	Switzerland CH	100%
12	Cook Islands CK	100%
13	Cape Verde CV	100%
14	Cayman Islands KY	100%
15	Dominica DM	100%
16	Denmark DK	100%
17	Spain ES	100%
18	Estonia EE	100%
19	Georgia GE	100%
20	Grenada GD	100%
21	Hong Kong HK	100%
22	Jamaica JM	100%
23	Jordan JO	100%
24	Kazakhstan KZ	100%
25	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	100%
26	South Korea KR	100%
27	Saint Lucia LC	100%
28	Lithuania LT	100%
29	Luxembourg LU	100%
30	Macau MO	100%
31	Monaco MC	100%
32	Moldova MD	100%
33	Maldives MV	100%
34	Mongolia MN	100%
35	Mauritius MU	100%
36	Malaysia MY	100%
37	Netherlands NL	100%
38	Norway NO	100%
39	Nauru NR	100%
40	Oman OM	100%
41	Palau PW	100%
42	Papua New Guinea PG	100%
43	Qatar QA	100%
44	Saudi Arabia SA	100%
45	Singapore SG	100%
46	San Marino SM	100%
47	Slovakia SK	100%
48	Slovenia SI	100%
49	Sweden SE	100%
50	Seychelles SC	100%
51	Turks and Caicos Islands TC	100%
52	Thailand TH	100%
53	Tokelau TK	100%
54	Trinidad and Tobago TT	100%
55	Türkiye TR	100%
56	Tuvalu TV	100%
57	Uruguay UY	100%
58	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC	100%
59	British Virgin Islands VG	100%
60	Czech Republic CZ	99.7%
61	Palestine PS	99.7%
62	Tunisia TN	99.4%
63	China CN	99.3%
64	Chile CL	99.1%
65	Ukraine UA	98.6%
66	Uzbekistan UZ	98.5%
67	Hungary HU	98.1%
68	Botswana BW	97.6%
69	Latvia LV	97.3%
70	Vietnam VN	94.6%
71	Namibia NA	94.4%
72	Lebanon LB	94%
73	Kyrgyzstan KG	93.6%
74	Tonga TO	92.9%
75	Azerbaijan AZ	90.6%
76	Venezuela VE	90.5%
77	Ecuador EC	90%
78	Philippines PH	89.6%
79	Rwanda RW	87.7%
80	Dominican Republic DO	87.6%
81	Colombia CO	86.3%
82	Morocco MA	83.4%
83	Peru PE	82.2%
84	Zimbabwe ZW	81.2%
85	Senegal SN	77.5%
86	Nepal NP	76.9%
87	Timor-Leste TL	76.9%
88	Argentina AR	75.6%
89	Brazil BR	73.1%
90	Algeria DZ	72.1%
91	Albania AL	70.3%
92	Cambodia KH	70%
93	Guyana GY	69.7%
94	Panama PA	69%
95	Zambia ZM	65.1%
96	Bangladesh BD	63.4%
97	Samoa WS	62.5%
98	Sri Lanka LK	62.1%
99	Egypt EG	59.8%
100	Cuba CU	59.3%
101	Mexico MX	57.1%
102	Kenya KE	56.1%
103	Turkmenistan TM	46.7%
104	Cameroon CM	42.3%
105	Gambia GM	39.6%
106	Togo TG	36.2%
107	Comoros KM	31.4%
108	Eswatini SZ	27.6%
109	Niger NE	24.9%
110	Syria SY	22.3%
111	Micronesia FM	21.2%
112	Ethiopia ET	18.8%
113	Madagascar MG	16%
114	Sierra Leone SL	15.4%
115	Chad TD	13.5%
116	Benin BJ	12.7%
117	Pakistan PK	12.1%
118	Burkina Faso BF	10.7%
119	Ghana GH	-
120	Kuwait KW	-
121	Marshall Islands MH	-
122	New Zealand NZ	-
123	Poland PL	-
124	Portugal PT	-
125	Solomon Islands SB	-
126	United States US	-

Regional Disparities and Infrastructure Challenges

Sub-Saharan Africa presents the most pronounced challenges for high school internet access, with countries experiencing severe infrastructure deficits due to limited broadband networks, high connectivity costs, and competing priorities for limited education budgets. However, some countries have made significant progress through targeted digital education initiatives and infrastructure investments.

South Asia shows mixed patterns reflecting diverse development trajectories. Countries in this region are gradually expanding internet access to high schools as mobile broadband becomes more affordable and governments prioritize digital education infrastructure. The region's large youth population and growing emphasis on STEM education are driving increased investment in school connectivity.

Latin America demonstrates relatively strong internet access in high schools compared to middle school levels, with many countries achieving 70%+ coverage. These achievements reflect decades of education infrastructure investment and stronger government commitment to digital education at the secondary level.

Internet Access in High Schools by Country (2026)

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#	Country	2019 (%)	2020 (%)	2021 (%)	2022 (%)	2023 (%)	2024 (%)	2026 Projection (%)
1	Aruba	-	-	-	-	-	100%	100%
2	Andorra	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
3	United Arab Emirates	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
4	Armenia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
5	Australia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
6	Austria	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
7	Belgium	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
8	Bahrain	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
9	Belarus	99.4%	99.5%	99.9%	100%	100%	100%	100%
10	Bhutan	-	97.6%	-	98.9%	100%	100%	100%
11	Switzerland	98.9%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
12	Cook Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
13	Cape Verde	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
14	Cayman Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
15	Dominica	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
16	Denmark	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
17	Spain	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
18	Estonia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
19	Georgia	100%	100%	100%	98%	100%	100%	100%
20	Grenada	-	100%	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
21	Hong Kong	95.3%	95.4%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
22	Jamaica	91.2%	-	-	100%	55.9%	100%	100%
23	Jordan	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
24	Kazakhstan	-	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%
25	Saint Kitts and Nevis	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
26	South Korea	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
27	Saint Lucia	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	-	100%
28	Lithuania	100%	100%	100%	99%	100%	100%	100%
29	Luxembourg	100%	-	100%	-	-	-	100%
30	Macau	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
31	Monaco	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
32	Moldova	94.7%	98%	98%	99.2%	99.5%	99.7%	100%
33	Maldives	100%	-	-	-	100%	100%	100%
34	Mongolia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
35	Mauritius	-	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%
36	Malaysia	96.1%	96.4%	96.8%	96.9%	96.9%	100%	100%
37	Netherlands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
38	Norway	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
39	Nauru	-	0%	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
40	Oman	100%	100%	95.6%	99%	100%	100%	100%
41	Palau	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
42	Papua New Guinea	-	-	-	-	100%	-	100%
43	Qatar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
44	Saudi Arabia	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%	100%
45	Singapore	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
46	San Marino	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
47	Slovakia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
48	Slovenia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
49	Sweden	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
50	Seychelles	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
51	Turks and Caicos Islands	-	83.3%	-	100%	100%	-	100%
52	Thailand	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
53	Tokelau	0%	0%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%
54	Trinidad and Tobago	-	-	-	-	-	100%	100%
55	Türkiye	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
56	Tuvalu	0%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
57	Uruguay	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	-	100%
58	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-	-	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
59	British Virgin Islands	87.5%	87.5%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
60	Czech Republic	99.3%	99.8%	99.5%	99.4%	-	-	99.7%
61	Palestine	96.5%	96%	98.7%	99.4%	98.7%	-	99.7%
62	Tunisia	-	96.3%	96.8%	92%	98.9%	-	99.4%
63	China	97.2%	97.1%	97.2%	98.1%	98.2%	98.3%	99.3%
64	Chile	99.1%	99.1%	98.4%	98.4%	98.5%	98.6%	99.1%
65	Ukraine	100%	100%	100%	-	97.6%	97.6%	98.6%
66	Uzbekistan	98.3%	83.3%	95.2%	92.6%	95%	97.5%	98.5%
67	Hungary	95%	93.6%	97.1%	96.8%	97.2%	97.1%	98.1%
68	Botswana	-	-	-	96.6%	-	-	97.6%
69	Latvia	-	-	-	-	96.3%	96.3%	97.3%
70	Vietnam	-	91.2%	88.8%	88.5%	92.4%	93.1%	94.6%
71	Namibia	-	91%	90.2%	92.8%	92.9%	92.4%	94.4%
72	Lebanon	96.2%	95.9%	96.9%	97.1%	96.4%	93%	94%
73	Kyrgyzstan	-	85.6%	88.9%	89%	90.8%	92.1%	93.6%
74	Tonga	-	88.5%	70.6%	70.6%	91.2%	91.4%	92.9%
75	Azerbaijan	67.8%	72.8%	76.3%	79.6%	87.7%	88.6%	90.6%
76	Venezuela	-	-	-	1.7%	-	88.5%	90.5%
77	Ecuador	77.2%	78.4%	77.8%	89.7%	78.8%	88%	90%
78	Philippines	81.7%	-	64.5%	81.3%	80.8%	87.6%	89.6%
79	Rwanda	62.3%	-	62.6%	83.2%	84.9%	85.7%	87.7%
80	Dominican Republic	-	-	-	68.8%	72.7%	85.6%	87.6%
81	Colombia	82%	77.6%	78.4%	84.3%	-	-	86.3%
82	Morocco	89.3%	89.2%	86.1%	85.8%	76.8%	81.4%	83.4%
83	Peru	77.1%	75.3%	65.8%	74.8%	80.2%	-	82.2%
84	Zimbabwe	76.5%	70.7%	-	-	80.4%	79.2%	81.2%
85	Senegal	53%	60.8%	69.7%	73.6%	-	75.5%	77.5%
86	Nepal	-	63.5%	95.6%	61.9%	77.3%	73.9%	76.9%
87	Timor-Leste	-	-	-	-	73.9%	-	76.9%
88	Argentina	64.2%	70.9%	69.7%	70.2%	72.6%	-	75.6%
89	Brazil	52.5%	58.5%	62.4%	66.3%	69.1%	70.1%	73.1%
90	Algeria	-	73.4%	-	-	85%	69.1%	72.1%
91	Albania	90.9%	100%	67.3%	-	-	-	70.3%
92	Cambodia	-	-	-	58.1%	59.7%	67%	70%
93	Guyana	-	-	-	-	61.7%	66.7%	69.7%
94	Panama	53.1%	53.1%	53.1%	53.1%	39.1%	67%	69%
95	Zambia	-	-	-	-	-	63.1%	65.1%
96	Bangladesh	37.6%	41.5%	52.2%	53.3%	58.1%	60.4%	63.4%
97	Samoa	100%	100%	100%	64.3%	61.9%	59.5%	62.5%
98	Sri Lanka	40.7%	-	59%	62.6%	59.1%	-	62.1%
99	Egypt	-	59.4%	58.6%	-	60%	56.8%	59.8%
100	Cuba	52.9%	52.9%	52.9%	56.9%	65.8%	56.3%	59.3%
101	Mexico	50.3%	54.3%	52.5%	51.6%	52.6%	54.1%	57.1%
102	Kenya	-	-	-	-	53.1%	-	56.1%
103	Turkmenistan	28.2%	31.1%	30.5%	34%	37.2%	41.7%	46.7%
104	Cameroon	-	25.3%	28.5%	32.6%	34.3%	-	42.3%
105	Gambia	-	-	-	26.1%	28.3%	31.6%	39.6%
106	Togo	-	14.1%	26.4%	21.2%	22.3%	28.2%	36.2%
107	Comoros	-	-	25.1%	-	-	26.4%	31.4%
108	Eswatini	58.7%	-	-	42.7%	22.6%	-	27.6%
109	Niger	13%	-	15.1%	-	17.3%	16.9%	24.9%
110	Syria	-	12%	10.8%	13%	13.3%	14.3%	22.3%
111	Micronesia	-	74.3%	68.6%	68.6%	12.8%	13.2%	21.2%
112	Ethiopia	-	20.6%	22.9%	10.8%	-	-	18.8%
113	Madagascar	8%	-	-	-	-	-	16%
114	Sierra Leone	7.1%	6.7%	4.6%	8%	7.3%	7.4%	15.4%
115	Chad	-	-	10.8%	-	4.7%	5.5%	13.5%
116	Benin	-	-	-	4.7%	-	-	12.7%
117	Pakistan	-	-	-	-	-	4.1%	12.1%
118	Burkina Faso	1.1%	1.1%	1%	-	1.6%	2.7%	10.7%
119	Ghana	47.3%	-	-	-	-	50.3%	-
120	Kuwait	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%	-
121	Marshall Islands	76.5%	72.2%	72.2%	-	-	75.2%	-
122	New Zealand	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%	-
123	Poland	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%	-
124	Portugal	97.8%	96.8%	97.1%	-	-	98.1%	-
125	Solomon Islands	13.9%	-	-	-	-	21.9%	-
126	United States	100%	-	-	-	-	100%	-

Methodology

This analysis presents 2026 internet access projections for upper secondary schools across 130+ countries through comprehensive individual country assessment of historical data, development trajectories, and contextual factors. The methodology emphasizes transparency, accountability to source data, and realistic projections rooted in country-specific circumstances.

Data Source and Measurement: The analysis utilizes UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data on the proportion of upper secondary schools with access to internet for pedagogical purposes, spanning the period 2010-2025 (Indicator SCHBSP.3.WINTERN, component of SDG Indicator 4.a.1). This indicator measures the proportion of upper secondary schools (ISCED Level 3, typically grades 10-12 or ages 15-18) with access to internet connectivity for teaching and learning purposes. The dataset encompasses 130+ countries with varying data availability, with data recency ranging from 2023-2025 for many countries to older data from 2010-2022 for others.

Individual Country Assessment: Rather than applying automated projection methods, this analysis employed dedicated manual assessment for all countries. Each country received individualized analysis considering its unique historical pattern, baseline value, regional context, income level, infrastructure development trajectory, and technology adoption trends. This approach ensures projections reflect real-world constraints and opportunities rather than applying uniform growth assumptions across diverse contexts.

Baseline Value Respect: All projections respect the most recent available data as the baseline, with changes typically limited to ±3-5 percentage points from the latest value. This conservative approach acknowledges that internet infrastructure in schools evolves gradually and that dramatic shifts require extraordinary circumstances or major policy initiatives.

Saturation Effects: Countries with internet access above 85% receive minimal growth projections, typically +0.5 to +2 percentage points, recognizing that reaching the final 10-15% of schools involves the most remote, costly installations. Conversely, countries in the 30-70% range often show larger absolute gains as mid-range expansion is typically more cost-effective than final-mile coverage.

Technology Adoption Trends: Projections incorporated sector-specific technology developments: mobile broadband expansion, declining connectivity costs, government digital education initiatives, and COVID-19 pandemic impacts on school digitalization. Countries that accelerated internet deployment during 2020-2023 were assessed for sustainability of these gains versus potential reversals if funding priorities shift.

Regional Benchmarking: Countries were evaluated within their regional contexts to ensure projections align with comparable nations. This approach prevents unrealistic outliers while respecting individual country circumstances.