The active users of internet have increased in the last two years by 23 per cent in the Arab world, more than the world average of 13 per cent, 1.6 times higher, according to Hatem Samman, director of Ideation Centre at Booz and Company.
“The Arab Digital Generation (ADG) constitutes 4 per cent of the globally digital active users generation. Up to 90 million Arabs whose ages range from 15 to 35 years use the internet. And it is expected that by 2030, about 38 per cent of the Arab population will be using the internet,” he told Gulf News on Tuesday on the sidelines of the media summit.
Samman was referring to a survey conducted by the company on 3,127 respondents from nine Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE, Algeria and Egypt.
He further said that Arabs read more news on the internet compared to others, stressing that 260 million are globally digitally active.
“The social media accounts memberships increased in the last two years by 20-30 per cent in the Arab world,” highlighted Samman, adding that “the UAE has the highest penetration of online purchases which is 12 per cent compared to a world average which stands at 20 per cent”.
“In 2006-2011, the number of internet users has increased to a great extent. This is reflected on the high percentage of YouTube playbacks in the Arab world compared to the rest of the world. 85 per cent of internet users in Saudi Arabia use the youtube, 83 per cent in the UAE and 74 per cent in Egypt.
The overall figure of YouTube users in the Mena is 167 million.
However, the percentage of YouTube users is 70 per cent in the UK, 63 per cent in Italy, and 58 per cent in Germany,” he pointed out, adding that in the Arab world, around 83 per cent use the internet daily.
“About 16 per cent in the GCC expressed dissatisfaction about teaching staff, 20 per cent of educational infrastructure, 22 per cent of educational technologies, and 27 per cent of preparing students for the job market,” said Samman.
Gulf News
9 October
