A new study on online censorship has found that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the most censored country in the world, along with the usual suspects (North Korea, Iran, China or Russia).
Using a range of Internet-based data, from pornography blocking status to the percentage of the population using Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, the status of torrents and the percentage of internet users in each country, Proxyrack gave the UAE a score of 8.03/10, calling it the most censored country in the world.
However, the countries mentioned above, which are known worldwide for having strict controls on the use of the Internet, freedom of communication and the exchange of information, have not been taken into account. “Ukraine and Russia have been dropped from the rankings,” the report said, not even mentioning the other countries.
VPNs and torrents
In any case, according to statistics, everyone in the UAE uses the Internet, but almost half (43.2%) use a VPN.
With VPNs restricted and the use of torrents and porn websites banned, it was enough to put the country at the top of this infamous list. Second place is taken by Qatar with a score of 6.95/10. This Arabian Gulf country performed slightly better because it doesn’t restrict torrenting and because a smaller percentage of the country (39.2%) uses VPNs.
Rounding out the top 3 is Saudi Arabia, which differs from Qatar only in the percentage of the population using VPNs – 27.1%.
The only European country to make the top ten list is Belarus at number 9 and (if viewed as a European country) Turkey at number 10. Australia came in eighth place, while Russia, Ukraine and North Korea were excluded from the analysis entirely. Other countries on the list are Oman, Kazakhstan, Singapore and Malaysia.
The UK was 14th, three places behind the US.
