Business & Money | Monday 6 November, 2017 5:14 pm |

As a major driver of economic and social development in the Arab region, the Internet is now transforming and redefining behaviors, processes, and interactions at the commercial, governmental, and personal scales. To better understand how internet penetration is impacting the Arab world, the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government’s (MBRSG) in cooperation with Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 Job Site, launched ‘The Arab World Online 2017: Digital Transformations and Societal Trends in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution’ report, which revealed that internet adoption by the public, businesses and governments has reached high levels of maturity in the region, creating critical masses of connected citizens, communities and customers.

 

By 2017, the penetration of internet users in the Arab region reached 42% of the population. By 2020, it is projected that one in every two residents of the Arab region (or around 49% of the population) will be using the internet. By 2021, it is projected that 47 million new internet users, 45 million new mobile broadband users and around 160 million new social media users will come online in the Arab region.

 

Back in 2012, the number of mobile subscriptions in the Arab region surpassed the number of people living in the region for the first time. In 2017, the number of mobile subscriptions has surpassed 420 million. Today, there are 5.7 million more mobile subscriptions in the Arab region than there are people.

 

Growing Digital Activities

Not only do more internet users in the Arab region have access to the internet nowadays, but they are now spending more time and interacting with more people online. According to the report, 69% of internet users in the Arab world said that they have increased the time they spend online today compared to two years ago (only 12% saying that the time spent online has decreased, and for 16% it remained the same).

 

Likewise, 66% said that they are interacting with more people online today compared to two years ago (13% saying that the time spent online has decreased, and for 17% it remained the same).

 

When it comes to online news consumption, around two thirds of internet users in the region (63%) said that they have increased their online news consumption compared to two years ago (12% saying that the time spent online has decreased, and for 21% it remained the same).

 

Even online spending has increased. According to the report, the average internet user in the Arab region now spends around 74 dollars monthly through the different online venues, up from around 44 dollars monthly two years ago. The number of people who said they spend money online has also increased by 16 percentage points compared to the past two years. Around half of internet users in the Arab region (48%) said that two years ago they did not spend money online. Today, only 32% said that they still do not spend money online.

 

Fadi Salem, Director of Research and Advisory, MBRSG, and author of the report said: “One of the key societal ramifications of the 4th industrial revolution is the ongoing fusion of people’s physical and virtual lives and identities. Today, the digital traces of public behaviors, practices, preferences, sentiments and lifestyle trends, are not just a reflection of societies’ online or “virtual” tendencies. They are sometimes becoming more representative of actual “real-life” preferences, perceptions and practices. Businesses and governments across the region are taking note and are no longer overlooking the emerging online trends of individuals and societies in our region. This is evident in the maturity and adoption of big data-driven approaches in public policy formulation, the industrial-scale implementations of numerous artificial intelligence operated technologies across business and government spectrum around the region, and most importantly the increased readiness and acceptance of these transformations by societies in the region.”

 

Top Three Online Activities:

According to the report, the most frequent activities conducted online are socializing, consuming news, and finding jobs and career planning.

 

The internet is almost universally used to fulfil social needs by internet users in the Arab region. This includes socializing and communicating with friends, families and others. More than 92% of respondents use the internet for socializing on a monthly basis, making it by far, the most popular online behavior.

 

News consumptions is the second most popular activity online. Around 79% of people said that they consume news online on a monthly basis.

 

Further, around 77% of internet users in the region use the internet for career oriented goals on a monthly basis, such as sharing their CVs, submitting job applications or updating their bios online. Similarly, around 76% use the internet monthly for their work activities.

 

Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com commented: “it is not surprising to learn how frequently residents of the Arab region use the internet to find and apply for jobs, plan and grow their careers, and learn more as professionals. At Bayt.com, we work with nearly 30 million professionals and empower them to find their ideal career opportunities every day.”

 

Internet Preferences

Arabic is the preferred language for the majority of internet users in the region. However, only 58% of respondents reported that they prefer to browse or consume content in Arabic while online. Meanwhile, 32% of internet users in the region prefer English, 9% prefer French (mostly in North African countries) and 1% prefer to browse in other languages.

 

When it comes to device preferences, smart phones today are the most popular point of access to the Internet for majority of Arab users. More than 70% of people in the region spend two or more hours online on their internet-connected phones, compared to 47% spending the same time using their computers (laptops and desktops).

 

Government and the Internet

A majority of internet users (82%) in this report realize the importance of data availability by government and consider open government data as an important element of interacting with their government (51% said it is very important).

 

In fact, and in regards to digital government interactions, around 41% of internet users in the Arab region have increased their online interactions with governments over the internet (11% saying that the time spent online has decreased, and for 30% it remained the same).

 

There are growing global practices where internet-based engagement have allowed better government decision-making processes that fit with societal needs. According to the report, more than 76% of respondents view taking part in online engagement on government decision making as important.

 

Further, three in four internet users in the Arab region (76%) also stated that online consultations regarding public policies are important to them. The possibilities of engaging through web channels, mobile devices and social media applications in public policy consultations, formulation and reform are clearly viewed as important by the public, or at least the internet users, in the Arab region.

 

Data for ‘The Arab World Online 2017: Digital Transformations and Societal Trends in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution’ report was collected online between August and October 2017. Results are based on a sample of 19,869 respondents from 22 countries including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and others. The complete report can be accessed here.