Internet Access in Secondary Schools by Country (2026)

Internet access in secondary schools (ISCED Level 2-3, covering both lower and upper secondary education) is critical for preparing students for higher education and professional careers in the digital economy. Secondary schools, encompassing both middle schools (lower secondary) and high schools (upper secondary), typically serve ages 11-18 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 secondary 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 secondary schools across 171+ countries, providing 2026 projections grounded in country-specific assessments and historical development patterns from 2010 to 2025.

Global Internet Connectivity in Secondary Schools

Internet access in 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 secondary schools, while roughly 30% of countries face coverage below 40%. Secondary schools typically have higher internet access rates than primary 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 secondary 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 secondary schools, though significant urban-rural divides persist.

Internet Access in Secondary 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	Antigua and Barbuda AG	100%
6	Australia AU	100%
7	Austria AT	100%
8	Belgium BE	100%
9	Bahrain BH	100%
10	Belarus BY	100%
11	Bermuda BM	100%
12	Bhutan BT	100%
13	Switzerland CH	100%
14	Cook Islands CK	100%
15	Cape Verde CV	100%
16	Cayman Islands KY	100%
17	Czech Republic CZ	100%
18	Dominica DM	100%
19	Spain ES	100%
20	Estonia EE	100%
21	Finland FI	100%
22	France FR	100%
23	Georgia GE	100%
24	Gibraltar GI	100%
25	Grenada GD	100%
26	Hong Kong HK	100%
27	Iran IR	100%
28	Iceland IS	100%
29	Israel IL	100%
30	Jordan JO	100%
31	Kazakhstan KZ	100%
32	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	100%
33	South Korea KR	100%
34	Kuwait KW	100%
35	Saint Lucia LC	100%
36	Luxembourg LU	100%
37	Macau MO	100%
38	Monaco MC	100%
39	Maldives MV	100%
40	Malta MT	100%
41	Mongolia MN	100%
42	Mauritius MU	100%
43	Malaysia MY	100%
44	Niue NU	100%
45	Netherlands NL	100%
46	Norway NO	100%
47	New Zealand NZ	100%
48	Oman OM	100%
49	Palau PW	100%
50	Poland PL	100%
51	Puerto Rico PR	100%
52	Qatar QA	100%
53	Saudi Arabia SA	100%
54	Singapore SG	100%
55	San Marino SM	100%
56	Slovakia SK	100%
57	Slovenia SI	100%
58	Sweden SE	100%
59	Seychelles SC	100%
60	Turks and Caicos Islands TC	100%
61	Thailand TH	100%
62	Tokelau TK	100%
63	Trinidad and Tobago TT	100%
64	Tunisia TN	100%
65	Türkiye TR	100%
66	Uruguay UY	100%
67	United States US	100%
68	Uzbekistan UZ	100%
69	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC	100%
70	British Virgin Islands VG	100%
71	Moldova MD	99.8%
72	Japan JP	99.6%
73	Russia RU	99.5%
74	China CN	99.4%
75	Palestine PS	99.4%
76	Canada CA	99.2%
77	Botswana BW	99.1%
78	Hungary HU	99%
79	Lithuania LT	99%
80	Brunei BN	98.6%
81	Montenegro ME	98.6%
82	Chile CL	98.2%
83	Ukraine UA	98.2%
84	Croatia HR	97.6%
85	North Macedonia MK	97.6%
86	Portugal PT	97.6%
87	Ireland IE	97.5%
88	Italy IT	97.3%
89	Latvia LV	96.8%
90	United Kingdom GB	96.3%
91	Tonga TO	96.3%
92	Romania RO	95.9%
93	Greece GR	95.7%
94	Nepal NP	95.7%
95	Serbia RS	95.5%
96	Germany DE	95.4%
97	Bosnia and Herzegovina BA	95.1%
98	Tuvalu TV	94.4%
99	Liechtenstein LI	93.2%
100	Philippines PH	89.3%
101	Indonesia ID	88.6%
102	Lebanon LB	87.4%
103	Ecuador EC	87.3%
104	Denmark DK	87.2%
105	Djibouti DJ	86.1%
106	Kiribati KI	84.9%
107	Morocco MA	84.8%
108	Azerbaijan AZ	84.2%
109	Dominican Republic DO	83.9%
110	Colombia CO	83.8%
111	Namibia NA	83.8%
112	Rwanda RW	83.2%
113	Peru PE	82.7%
114	Costa Rica CR	82.6%
115	India IN	75%
116	Argentina AR	74.3%
117	Venezuela VE	73.4%
118	Cuba CU	73.1%
119	Timor-Leste TL	71%
120	Senegal SN	70.8%
121	Guyana GY	70.2%
122	El Salvador SV	68.6%
123	Zambia ZM	66.6%
124	Albania AL	65.6%
125	Algeria DZ	64.7%
126	Bangladesh BD	63.7%
127	Brazil BR	62.9%
128	Sri Lanka LK	62.4%
129	Panama PA	61.5%
130	Mexico MX	60%
131	Jamaica JM	58.6%
132	Guatemala GT	56.4%
133	Samoa WS	56.2%
134	Nauru NR	53.5%
135	Zimbabwe ZW	53.2%
136	Egypt EG	48.4%
137	Kyrgyzstan KG	47.6%
138	Turkmenistan TM	45.7%
139	Marshall Islands MH	40.4%
140	Cambodia KH	40%
141	Ivory Coast CI	39.2%
142	Kenya KE	34.6%
143	Paraguay PY	33.4%
144	Comoros KM	28.5%
145	Cameroon CM	28.1%
146	Eswatini SZ	26.6%
147	Vietnam VN	24.2%
148	Ghana GH	23.9%
149	Bolivia BO	22.9%
150	Mali ML	22.1%
151	Togo TG	22.1%
152	Angola AO	20.7%
153	Gambia GM	16.2%
154	Ethiopia ET	14.8%
155	Solomon Islands SB	13.8%
156	Syria SY	13.8%
157	Niger NE	13.7%
158	Micronesia FM	13.2%
159	Nicaragua NI	12.8%
160	Madagascar MG	10%
161	Myanmar MM	9.9%
162	Sierra Leone SL	9%
163	Benin BJ	8%
164	Chad TD	8%
165	Pakistan PK	6.8%
166	Burkina Faso BF	6.5%
167	Burundi BI	4.4%
168	DR Congo CD	4%
169	Guinea GN	4%

Regional Disparities and Infrastructure Challenges

Sub-Saharan Africa presents the most pronounced challenges for secondary 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 secondary 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 secondary schools compared to primary 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 Secondary 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	Antigua and Barbuda	-	-	-	-	-	-	100%
6	Australia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
7	Austria	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
8	Belgium	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
9	Bahrain	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
10	Belarus	99.4%	99.6%	99.8%	99.9%	100%	100%	100%
11	Bermuda	-	-	-	-	-	-	100%
12	Bhutan	-	98.6%	-	99.5%	100%	99.5%	100%
13	Switzerland	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
14	Cook Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
15	Cape Verde	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
16	Cayman Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
17	Czech Republic	99.6%	99.9%	99.7%	99.6%	-	-	100%
18	Dominica	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
19	Spain	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
20	Estonia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
21	Finland	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
22	France	-	-	-	100%	-	-	100%
23	Georgia	100%	100%	100%	99.1%	100%	100%	100%
24	Gibraltar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
25	Grenada	-	100%	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
26	Hong Kong	95.6%	96%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
27	Iran	-	-	-	100%	100%	-	100%
28	Iceland	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
29	Israel	98%	99%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
30	Jordan	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
31	Kazakhstan	-	100%	100%	96.9%	100%	100%	100%
32	Saint Kitts and Nevis	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
33	South Korea	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
34	Kuwait	100%	100%	100%	-	-	-	100%
35	Saint Lucia	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	-	100%
36	Luxembourg	100%	-	100%	-	-	-	100%
37	Macau	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
38	Monaco	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
39	Maldives	99.6%	-	-	-	100%	100%	100%
40	Malta	-	-	-	100%	-	-	100%
41	Mongolia	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
42	Mauritius	-	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%
43	Malaysia	97.5%	97.7%	98%	98.2%	98.2%	100%	100%
44	Niue	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
45	Netherlands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
46	Norway	98.9%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
47	New Zealand	100%	100%	100%	96.5%	-	-	100%
48	Oman	100%	100%	96.9%	99.2%	100%	100%	100%
49	Palau	-	87.5%	100%	95.8%	95.8%	100%	100%
50	Poland	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
51	Puerto Rico	-	-	-	-	38.7%	100%	100%
52	Qatar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
53	Saudi Arabia	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%	100%
54	Singapore	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
55	San Marino	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
56	Slovakia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
57	Slovenia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
58	Sweden	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
59	Seychelles	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
60	Turks and Caicos Islands	-	-	-	96.7%	100%	100%	100%
61	Thailand	99.7%	99.7%	99.8%	99.9%	99.8%	99.9%	100%
62	Tokelau	0%	0%	100%	-	100%	100%	100%
63	Trinidad and Tobago	-	-	-	-	-	100%	100%
64	Tunisia	-	97.9%	98.2%	96.1%	99.5%	-	100%
65	Türkiye	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
66	Uruguay	100%	100%	-	100%	100%	-	100%
67	United States	100%	-	-	100%	-	-	100%
68	Uzbekistan	88%	83.3%	95.9%	92.6%	95%	97.5%	100%
69	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-	-	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
70	British Virgin Islands	86.7%	86.7%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
71	Moldova	98%	95.3%	96.3%	97.9%	98.2%	99.3%	99.8%
72	Japan	-	-	-	99.1%	-	-	99.6%
73	Russia	-	-	-	-	-	-	99.5%
74	China	98.4%	98.4%	98.6%	98.9%	98.9%	98.9%	99.4%
75	Palestine	92.5%	95.9%	97%	99.1%	98.9%	-	99.4%
76	Canada	-	-	-	98.7%	-	-	99.2%
77	Botswana	-	-	-	98.6%	-	-	99.1%
78	Hungary	97.8%	97.2%	98.3%	98%	98.4%	98.4%	99%
79	Lithuania	100%	99.4%	100%	97.4%	98.7%	100%	99%
80	Brunei	-	-	-	98.1%	-	-	98.6%
81	Montenegro	-	-	-	98.1%	-	-	98.6%
82	Chile	98.1%	98.1%	97%	97.2%	97.4%	97.7%	98.2%
83	Ukraine	100%	100%	100%	-	97.9%	97.7%	98.2%
84	Croatia	-	-	-	97.1%	-	-	97.6%
85	North Macedonia	-	-	-	97.1%	-	-	97.6%
86	Portugal	97.9%	97.5%	98.1%	97.1%	-	-	97.6%
87	Ireland	-	-	-	97%	-	-	97.5%
88	Italy	-	-	-	96.8%	-	-	97.3%
89	Latvia	-	-	-	95.8%	96.4%	97.1%	96.8%
90	United Kingdom	-	-	-	94.8%	-	-	96.3%
91	Tonga	-	71.6%	44.2%	43.4%	36.5%	94.8%	96.3%
92	Romania	-	-	-	94.4%	-	-	95.9%
93	Greece	-	-	-	95.2%	-	-	95.7%
94	Nepal	-	34.8%	-	-	47.7%	67.5%	95.7%
95	Serbia	-	-	-	94%	-	-	95.5%
96	Germany	-	-	-	93.9%	-	-	95.4%
97	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	-	-	-	-	-	95.1%
98	Tuvalu	0%	-	92.9%	92.9%	92.9%	92.9%	94.4%
99	Liechtenstein	-	-	-	-	-	-	93.2%
100	Philippines	72.4%	-	64.4%	82.4%	81.4%	87.8%	89.3%
101	Indonesia	-	-	89.2%	91.2%	92.8%	85.4%	88.6%
102	Lebanon	95.1%	95%	96.3%	96.5%	96.5%	85.9%	87.4%
103	Ecuador	71.6%	73%	72.7%	87.6%	74%	84.8%	87.3%
104	Denmark	-	-	-	84.7%	-	-	87.2%
105	Djibouti	-	-	-	-	83.6%	-	86.1%
106	Kiribati	-	58.8%	64.7%	76.5%	78.8%	82.4%	84.9%
107	Morocco	87.8%	87.8%	84%	83.8%	78.1%	82.3%	84.8%
108	Azerbaijan	62.6%	68.3%	72.2%	75.7%	83.8%	81.7%	84.2%
109	Dominican Republic	-	-	-	66.2%	68.7%	81.4%	83.9%
110	Colombia	76.9%	72.8%	74%	81.3%	-	-	83.8%
111	Namibia	-	75.7%	79%	81.8%	80.3%	81.2%	83.8%
112	Rwanda	60.7%	-	55.6%	76.9%	78.8%	80.7%	83.2%
113	Peru	77.1%	75.3%	65.8%	74.8%	80.2%	-	82.7%
114	Costa Rica	70%	83.2%	-	80.1%	-	-	82.6%
115	India	32.9%	37.6%	39.3%	47.8%	60.7%	64.3%	75%
116	Argentina	62.8%	69.7%	68.7%	69.3%	71.8%	-	74.3%
117	Venezuela	-	-	-	4.3%	-	70.9%	73.4%
118	Cuba	56.6%	61.6%	67.4%	65.2%	73%	69.6%	73.1%
119	Timor-Leste	-	-	-	-	67.5%	-	71%
120	Senegal	46.3%	44.1%	64.3%	68.2%	-	67.3%	70.8%
121	Guyana	-	-	-	-	61.7%	66.7%	70.2%
122	El Salvador	-	-	-	65.1%	-	-	68.6%
123	Zambia	-	-	-	-	-	63.1%	66.6%
124	Albania	85.9%	100%	70.8%	62.1%	-	-	65.6%
125	Algeria	-	64.3%	-	-	89.8%	60.9%	64.7%
126	Bangladesh	37.6%	40%	52.1%	53.2%	57.8%	60.2%	63.7%
127	Brazil	40.4%	45.4%	49.6%	53.9%	57.3%	59.4%	62.9%
128	Sri Lanka	38.8%	-	58.7%	60.7%	58.9%	-	62.4%
129	Panama	51.5%	51.5%	51.5%	51.5%	39.7%	58%	61.5%
130	Mexico	50.1%	50.3%	47.2%	44.6%	49.3%	54%	60%
131	Jamaica	-	-	-	93.1%	-	55.1%	58.6%
132	Guatemala	-	-	-	52.9%	-	-	56.4%
133	Samoa	46.2%	-	55.8%	58.1%	53%	52.7%	56.2%
134	Nauru	-	0%	-	-	50%	50%	53.5%
135	Zimbabwe	43.3%	39.6%	-	-	49.6%	49.2%	53.2%
136	Egypt	-	-	-	-	45.5%	44.4%	48.4%
137	Kyrgyzstan	-	-	-	-	-	-	47.6%
138	Turkmenistan	28.2%	31.1%	30.5%	34%	37.2%	41.7%	45.7%
139	Marshall Islands	-	-	36.4%	-	-	-	40.4%
140	Cambodia	-	-	32.4%	28.3%	30%	36%	40%
141	Ivory Coast	-	-	-	-	-	35.2%	39.2%
142	Kenya	-	-	-	-	30.6%	-	34.6%
143	Paraguay	-	-	-	29.4%	-	-	33.4%
144	Comoros	-	-	24.8%	-	-	24.5%	28.5%
145	Cameroon	-	-	-	22.6%	24.1%	-	28.1%
146	Eswatini	58.7%	-	-	42.7%	22.6%	-	26.6%
147	Vietnam	-	92.7%	89.4%	89.1%	93.6%	20.2%	24.2%
148	Ghana	-	-	-	-	-	-	23.9%
149	Bolivia	-	-	-	-	-	-	22.9%
150	Mali	-	-	-	-	18.1%	-	22.1%
151	Togo	-	6.4%	10.7%	10.4%	14.2%	18.1%	22.1%
152	Angola	-	-	-	-	-	-	20.7%
153	Gambia	-	-	-	8.9%	9.8%	11.3%	16.2%
154	Ethiopia	-	20.6%	22.9%	10.8%	-	-	14.8%
155	Solomon Islands	9.8%	-	-	-	-	-	13.8%
156	Syria	-	7.7%	-	8.5%	9.2%	9.8%	13.8%
157	Niger	6.7%	-	8.8%	-	9.6%	9.7%	13.7%
158	Micronesia	-	46.8%	45.6%	45.6%	9.2%	9.2%	13.2%
159	Nicaragua	-	-	-	8.8%	-	-	12.8%
160	Madagascar	6%	-	-	-	-	-	10%
161	Myanmar	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.9%
162	Sierra Leone	4.2%	4.7%	3.7%	5.7%	5.1%	5%	9%
163	Benin	-	-	-	4%	-	-	8%
164	Chad	-	-	8.7%	-	3.5%	4%	8%
165	Pakistan	-	-	-	-	-	2.8%	6.8%
166	Burkina Faso	1.4%	1.4%	1.3%	-	1.8%	2.5%	6.5%
167	Burundi	0.4%	-	-	-	-	-	4.4%
168	DR Congo	-	-	-	-	-	-	4%
169	Guinea	-	-	-	-	-	-	4%

Methodology

This analysis presents 2026 internet access projections for secondary schools across 171+ 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 secondary schools with access to internet for pedagogical purposes, spanning the period 2010-2025 (Indicator SCHBSP.2T3.WINTERN, component of SDG Indicator 4.a.1). This indicator measures the proportion of secondary schools (ISCED Level 2-3, encompassing both lower secondary/middle schools and upper secondary/high schools, typically ages 11-18) with access to internet connectivity for teaching and learning purposes. The dataset encompasses 171+ 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.