New record in Swedes' data consumption – 17 percent increase in one year

Swedes' data consumption continues to soar. During the first quarter of this year, Swedish households surfed an average of 555 gigabytes per month – an increase of 17 percent compared to the same period last year. This is the first time the average has exceeded 550 GB/month, according to new statistics from GlobalConnect's Surf Index.

To put that into perspective, 555 GB is equivalent to over 500 hours of streaming video on Netflix, or about 318 days of streamed music from Spotify.

In total, Swedish households surfed 16.7 percent more data via fiber in GlobalConnect's extensive fiber network in Sweden during the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year.

Growing demands on infrastructure

– We have seen a sharp growth in data consumption in recent years, and this development continues to place new demands on us as owners and builders of infrastructure. Although levels are already high, growth continues at a rapid pace, reflecting how streaming services, cloud storage and digital services have become fully integrated into everyday life. In addition, we are seeing how new use cases such as AI are further increasing capacity requirements. For us at GlobalConnect, this means that we must continue to invest in, expand and strengthen the network to meet the growing demand from households, businesses and data centers, says Philip Wagrowski, business manager at GlobalConnect.

Major changes in internet usage – Västra Götaland at the top

Over the past year, we have seen a noticeable change in the distribution of internet usage among Swedish counties, when comparing the first quarter of 2024 with the first quarter of 2025. Västra Götaland, which was in third place with an average of 556 GB/month in the first quarter of 2024, has now taken the lead with 672 GB/month, indicating a strong increase in data usage.

At the same time, we see that the counties at the bottom of the list, such as Kalmar and Örebro, have not seen the same growth. Kalmar, who had the lowest average with 322 GB/month in the first quarter of 2024, has only increased to 375 GB/month in the first quarter of 2025. Örebro and Östergötland have also had minor changes and end up in the lower rankings with 477 GB and 468 GB respectively.

Data consumption by county – First quarter 2025

• Vastra Gotaland – 672 GB
• Jonkoping – 658 GB
• Uppsala – 646GB
• Västmanland – 643 GB
• Västernorrland – 642 GB
• Blekinge – 627 GB
• Gavleborg – 604 GB
• Stockholm – 592 GB
• Skåne – 573 GB
• Norrbotten – 566 GB
• Varmland – 558GB
• Dalarna – 518 GB
• Jamtland – 516 GB
• Södermanland – 515 GB
• Gotland – 500 GB
• Kronoberg – 496 GB
• Örebro – 477 GB
• Östergötland – 468 GB
• Halland – 461 GB
• Kalmar – 375 GB

Data consumption by county – First quarter 2024

• Västernorrland – 573 GB
• Uppsala – 562 GB
• Vastra Gotaland – 556 GB
• Jonkoping – 542 GB
• Västmanland – 530 GB
• Stockholm – 522 GB
• Gavleborg – 518 GB
• Blekinge – 500 GB
• Skåne – 499 GB
• Varmland – 479 GB
• Jamtland – 463 GB
• Norrbotten – 459 GB
• Dalarna – 452 GB
• Södermanland – 450 GB
• Halland – 446 GB
• Kronoberg – 436 GB
• Gotland – 429 GB
• Östergötland – 392 GB
• Örebro – 385 GB
• Kalmar – 322 GB

Stockholm takes the lead – major change in internet usage among Sweden's largest cities

Over the past year, we have also seen major changes in internet usage among largest cities in SwedenStockholm, which was in third place with an average of 627 GB/month in Q1 2024, has now taken the lead with 765 GB/month in Q1 2025, marking a significant increase in data usage of 22%.

Gothenburg, which was in second place at the beginning of 2024 with 653 GB/month, has also seen an increase and is now in second place with 755 GB/month, which corresponds to a 16% increase.

Malmo, which was at the top in Q1 2024 with 670 GB/month, has however seen a slightly smaller increase and is now in third place with 717 GB/month, representing a 7% increase. This overall increase may reflect the increasing demand for network capacity in the capital region and other major cities, which is driving the need for higher data capacity.

– It is clear that "We are seeing a continued strong increase in internet usage, especially in metropolitan regions. Stockholm has taken the lead, reflecting the increased demand for higher network capacity as digital services and streaming continue to grow. Gothenburg and Malmö are following closely behind, showing that other major cities in Sweden also need to strengthen their infrastructure to meet the increasing use of data," says Philip Wagrowski.

Top 3: Q1 2024 (in GB/month)

• Malmo – 670 GB
• Gothenburg – 653 GB
• Stockholm – 627 GB

Top 3: Q1 2025 (in GB/month)

• Stockholm – 765 GB
• Gothenburg – 755 GB
• Malmo – 717 GB

Note: Counties with too few access points have been excluded from the compilation as the data is not considered statistically sufficient for a fair result.