- All the leading countries in digital security are in Europe
- UK lags behind in cyber security
- According to Surfshark, advances in artificial intelligence are essential
Do you think your data is equally safe regardless of your country? So perhaps we should think again, as Europe now leads the way in digital security and the UK is losing ground.
The data comes from Surshark, which recently published its 2025 Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index. The maker of one of the best VPNs analyzed 121 countries, using open source data from the UN and the World Bank, among others, to evaluate five pillars: internet quality, internet accessibility, digital security, digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence.
While it is encouraging to see European countries taking the lead in digital security, the results show that the UK is falling behind as these countries have improved significantly, and the gap could widen further next year. If you want to increase your level of protection, Surfshark’s Black Friday VPN deal can help you prepare for the consequences.
Where are you safest online?
It defines digital security as the level of security people enjoy online. This reflects a country’s desire to fight cybercrime and its commitment to protecting online privacy. The results show that all countries at the top of the digital security ranking are European.
Even better, Estonia, Germany, France and Finland are also among the top 10 countries for digital sovereignty, with Finland leading the way in maintaining the best quality of digital life in the world.
Britain, however, has a very different story. While the company has also performed well in data protection, its cybersecurity pillar ranks 39th globally, indicating significant gaps and showing signs of a sharp decline since 2024, when its cybersecurity capabilities came in sixth.
The UK has also lost ground on the DQL Global Index and is now in 18th place, behind countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and South Korea.
While this radical change may seem alarming, Kucinskaite assures that the data needs to be put into context and that the UK is making progress across the board, but not at the same rate as other countries that have made greater progress.
However, Kucinskaite warns that if the rate of improvement in the UK lags behind that of other countries, UK results could deteriorate further next year.
From a global perspective, it is interesting to note that Europe has the smallest differences in digital security scores. The highest ranked country, the Czech Republic, reaches a value 2.5 times higher than Belarus, which is at the bottom of the regional ranking.
Meanwhile, Asia has the greatest inequality in terms of digital security, with the country in first place (South Korea) scoring 23 times higher than the country in last place (Yemen).
The AI factor
While the UK may struggle to keep up with other countries’ faster digital development, data shows the UK is making rapid progress in artificial intelligence, in fourth place.
As a leader in AI, the UK is an attractive destination for investment in the sector and is showing a willingness to integrate AI into public services, which also means further strengthening cyber security capabilities.
Furthermore, Kucinskaite notes that the UK offers a particularly advantageous combination in the digital security sector, as they are at the forefront of artificial intelligence while offering the highest levels of data protection, indicating good resilience against potential cyber threats.
“While many countries are increasing their investment in AI, the UK needs to maintain its current competitive position,” emphasizes Kucinskaite.
It is no surprise that the US is positioning itself as a global leader in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence development, followed by Singapore and South Korea. In this sense, Europe is worryingly lagging behind in the field of artificial intelligence.