Today, a new tidal wave of digital-age transformation is triggering historic societal changes across the Arab region. The main drivers of these radical changes are the rapid and large-scale digitization and datafication of Arab societies, the rise of smart cities implementations, the maturity of cognitive government approaches and the expanding impact of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (4IR). By2021, it is projected that there will be47 million new internet users,45 million new broadband users and around160 new social media users in the Arab region. How will the100% mobile penetration and80% social media penetration rates in the MENA region transform the way people do business and interact with governments? Find out this and more by accessing the full report for free.
Key findings:
The penetration of internet users in the Arab region has reached42% of the population.
The average internet user in the Arab region now spends around74 dollars monthly through different online venues. This has increased from around44 dollars monthly two years ago.
Nearly seven in10 internet users in the Arab world claim that they have increased the time they spend online compared to two years ago.
More than four in five respondents use the internet for socializing on a monthly basis, making it the most popular online activity.
Around77% of internet users in the region use the internet for career oriented goals, such as sharing their CVs, submitting job applications or updating their bios online.
More than70% of people in the region spend two or more hours online on their internet-connected phones.
Eight in ten respondents realize the importance of data availability and consider open government data an important element in interacting with their government.
Data for ‘The Arab World Online2017: Digital Transformations and Societal Trends in the Age of the4th Industrial Revolution’ report was collected online between August and October2017. Results are based on a sample of19,869 respondents from22 countries including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and others.
