The number of internet users in the Arab World is expected to rise to about 226 million by 2018, says the Arab Knowledge Economy report 2015-2016.
The UAE ranked first on 2015 E-performance Index with average of 67.35 per cent, according to a new research launched on Tuesday.
The research further revealed that GDP of Gulf countries constitutes around 60 per cent of the total Arab world GDP. Saudi Arabia ranked first in Arab World GDP with $753 billion and the UAE ranked second with $401 billion GDP.
The number of internet users in the Arab World is expected to rise to about 226 million by 2018, says the Arab Knowledge Economy report 2015-2016.
The Internet penetration rate will jump from about 37.5 per cent in 2014 to over 55 per cent in 2018, or about 7 per cent above the estimated world average of 3.6 billion users.
Developed by Orient Planet Research, an Orient Planet Group venture, in cooperation with the Research Consultant Abdul Kader Al Kamli, the Arab Knowledge Economy Report is a research study that provides insights and statistics on the region's information-driven economic framework in the context of its dynamic and ever-expanding economy.
The report throws the light on major trends impacting the market within the region as well as other key indicators.
The report says Dubai ranks among the world's top 10 cities in Digital Governance, topping world capitals such as London, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna in 2014.
A survey of the official city websites of 100 major cities in 100 countries has ranked Dubai ninth overall, fourth in service delivery and fifth in privacy and security. The survey was released in September 2014 by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey - Newark.
Abdul Kader Al Kamli, Research Consultant, Orient Planet Research, said: "The Arab World is in the midst of change following a number of social and political upheavals. In the face of these dynamic reforms, many countries within the region continue to make great strides in their efforts to shift to a knowledge-based economy, marking a noticeable improvement in knowledge society indicators."
Nidal Abou Zaki, managing director, Orient Planet Group, said: "The Arab world is in the middle of an economic evolution as a result of the changing oil prices. This has prompted a shift towards establishing a diversified economy with a particular focus on cultivating a knowledge economy evident in the increased investment towards ICT infrastructure as part of the region's effort to move away from its dependency on oil. Considerable improvement has been made across health, service delivery, among other sectors.
Abou Zaki added: "The UAE is an emerging leader in e-government development globally and its level of digitalisation is comparable with that of global leaders. Dubai outranks digitally advanced world capitals, such as London, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna in terms of Digital Governance. Muscat came second among Arab cities in this regard, followed by Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, Tunis, Casablanca, Baghdad, Kuwait and Manama."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Abdul Basit
Quelle/Source: Khaleej Times, 29.03.2016
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