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Internet penetration reaches 70 % in Arab world finds Orient Planet Research
The number of Internet users in the Arab region accounted for approximately 348 million, which represents 70.2 % of the total population of 496 million, according to a study conducted by Galal and Karawi Management Consulting, in collaboration with Orient Planet Research, one of the specialised units of Orient Planet Group, OPG.
The study, which focused on digital transformation in the Arab World, further reported that social media usage has surged to 228 million users, or 46 % of the total population.
Eng Asem Galal, Co-founder of Galal and Karawi Management Consulting, commented on the study’ s findings, asserting that digital platforms are central to Arab governments’ strategies for engaging with Millennial and Gen Z populations. He emphasised the critical significance of creating national digital content that seamlessly aligns with the region’ s cultural identity as well as leveraging artificial intelligence, AI technologies.
The study further reveals a narrowing digital gap between the Arab World and the European Union, EU. While the EU boasts approximately 419 million Internet users, the Arab region follows closely behind with 348 million, with only a 71 million user difference. million. Algeria holds fourth position with 25.6 million users, while Morocco and the UAE account for 21.3 million and 11.3 million users, respectively.
Together, these countries represent 77 % of all social media users in the Arab World, indicating the concentration of users within a select number of key markets.
The study further reveals distinct trends in application usage across Arab countries. In the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, TikTok has become the most popular application, signalling a shift away from prominent platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. TikTok’ s popularity extends to countries, including Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Mauritania, Yemen and Somalia.
In contrast, Facebook remains the dominant platform in North African countries, excluding Egypt, including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, and continues to maintain a robust presence in Palestine and the Comoros. Facebook remains a pivotal platform for social interaction across these countries.
In terms of social media usage, the report highlights that the EU has 230 million social media users, a figure closely mirroring that of the Arab World. This highlights the rapid expansion of the Arab region’ s digital footprint.
Egypt ranks as the foremost nation in social media usage in the Arab World, with 50.7 million users, followed by Iraq with 34.3 million and Saudi Arabia with 34.1
YouTube remains the primary platform for visual, educational and entertainment content in Egypt, Jordan and Oman. Snapchat continues to thrive in the Gulf region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where it boasts 24.7 million users, underscoring its prominence as a preferred platform for visual communication among youth.
In the realm of professional networking, LinkedIn enjoys considerable traction in high-economic activity countries, with Saudi Arabia recording around 11 million users and the UAE with 9.4 million users, reflecting the platform’ s growing significance in the professional landscape. p
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