New Zealand fared worse on the charts when it came to fixed broadband, sitting at number 17 out of the 34 OECD countries, with 26 subscriptions per 100 people, but this was still above average.
"New Zealand saw a rapid rise in both fixed and wireless broadband, moving from 12th to 16th in the broadband ranking, boosted by the entry of a third mobile operator, 2degrees," the organisation said.
However, IDC analyst Rosemary Spragg said availability of cheaper smartphones was a more likely reason for mobile internet uptake than 2degrees.
"2degrees, in its early entry, was much more focused on voice and messaging services, more so than data. Personally I think the Android and lower-end smartphone devices were probably a bigger driver, given New Zealand is such a price-sensitive market," Spragg said.
New Zealand's use of mobile broadband was likely to grow in years to come through the Government's rural broadband initiative and more competition in the mobile market.
"It does come down to just what the strategies are for the likes of Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees, the degree to which they push it as a substitute rather than a complement to [fixed-line broadband services]. But we'll definitely see that heat up," she said.
Australia ranked at number eight with 64 mobile broadband subscript-ions per 100 people; Korea came in top with 99 subscriptions per 100 people.
InternetNZ chief executive Vikram Kumar said the rankings showed New Zealand was significantly behind Australia in terms of wireless connections.
"We're constrained by relatively high mobile data charges," he said.
