Kenya outperforms US, UK and South Africa in fixed internet latency ranking

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 12 – Kenya has recorded better fixed internet latency than the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa in a new ranking of internet performance across 16 English-speaking countries. The assessment by independent internet measurement platform nPerf places Kenya second with an average latency of 29 milliseconds, behind New Zealand at 28 milliseconds.

Internet latency is the time it takes for a data packet to travel from your device to a server and back, measured in milliseconds (ms). Latency Scale & Benchmarks Under 20 ms: Excellent (typical of fiber-optic or high-speed cable connections); ideal for competitive gaming and real-time voice or video calls. 20 – 50 ms: Good; smooth for casual gaming, streaming, and normal browsing. 50 – 100 ms: Fair; you may notice minor delays or lag.

Over 100 ms: Poor; makes real-time activities like gaming, trading, or video chatting difficult or sluggish. Canada and the United Kingdom jointly occupy third position with 33 milliseconds, while Ireland ranks fifth at 37 milliseconds. The United States is placed 12th with 70 milliseconds, followed by South Africa at 71 milliseconds and Nigeria at 80 milliseconds.

Tanzania, the only other East African country included in the ranking, occupies ninth position with 58 milliseconds. Kenya’s performance represents a 22 percent improvement year-on-year, indicating increased responsiveness in its fixed internet connections. The assessment covers the period between November 2025 and October 2026 and is based on actual connection tests conducted by internet users.