NZ internet still amongst the slowest in the world - survey

New Zealanders can expect to wait longer for their downloads than other countries, with the average download speed significantly slower. File photo / Thinkstock

A Global internet Speed Survey has revealed New Zealand internet is still some of the slowest in the world.

The survey - based on 27 million downloads by 20 million computers in 224 countries from January through June 2011 - found the average worldwide download speed is 580KBps.

New Zealand's average download speed is 364KBps, just ahead of Australia at 348KBps.

In a list dominated by Asian and Eastern European nations, South Korea came in first with an average speed of 2,202KBps, followed by Romania (1,909KBps) and Bulgaria (1,611KBps).

The United States came in at 26th, with an average speed of 616KBps.

Chief executive of Pando Networks Robert Levitan said the disparities were "striking".

"While, in general, developed economies outpaced the developing world in average download speeds, big names such as the US, UK, France, China and Canada were not even close to being the fastest.

"Instead, we saw high speeds in markets such as Eastern Europe where focus on infrastructural development and favorable geography promote a higher level of connectivity."