The document provides an overview of digital usage in the UAE as of 2018, detailing key indicators such as internet users (9.38 million), active social media users (9.38 million), and mobile connections (9.47 million). It highlights significant data on demographics, device usage, online activities, and attitudes towards digital technologies, including an 86% literacy rate and 76% believing new technologies offer more opportunities than risks. The report also ranks the most popular websites and social media platforms, illustrating the growing online engagement among UAE residents.

1. DIGITAL IN U.A.E.
Essential Insights into
Internet, Social Media, Mobile
& Ecommerce use in U.A.E.
2018

2. DIGITAL IN U.A.E.
TOTAL
POPULATION
A Snapshot of the country’s key digital statistical indicators
INTERNET
USERS
ACTIVE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
ACTIVE MOBILE
SOCIAL USERS
9.47
Million
9.38
Million
9.38
Million
7.31
Million
8.70
Million
SOURCES: POPULATION: UNITED NATIONS; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; INTERNET: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; ITU; EUROSTAT; INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK;
MIDEASTMEDIA.ORG; FACEBOOK; GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS; REGULATORY AUTHORITIES; REPUTABLE MEDIA; SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK;
TENCENT; VKONTAKTE; KAKAO; NAVER; DING; TECHRASA; SIMILARWEB; KEPIOS ANALYSIS; MOBILE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE; GOOGLE; ERICSSON; KEPIOS ANALYSIS.
NOTE: PENETRATION FIGURES ARE FOR TOTAL POPULATION (ALL AGES).
86% 99% 99% 77% 92%
Urbanisation: Penetration: Penetration: Penetration:vs. Population:

3. ANNUAL DIGITAL GROWTH
Year-on-year change in key statistical indicators
INTERNET
USERS
ACTIVE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
ACTIVE MOBILE
SOCIAL USERS
+2%
SINCE JAN 2017
+2%
SINCE JAN 2017
+1%
SINCE JAN 2017
+6%
SINCE JAN 2017
+176
Thousand
+176
Thousand
+107
Thousand
+500
Thousand
SOURCES: POPULATION: UNITED NATIONS; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; INTERNET: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; ITU; EUROSTAT; INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; MIDEASTMEDIA.ORG;
FACEBOOK; GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS; REGULATORY AUTHORITIES; REPUTABLE MEDIA; SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK; TENCENT; VKONTAKTE; KAKAO; NAVER; DING;
TECHRASA; SIMILARWEB; KEPIOS ANALYSIS; MOBILE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE; GOOGLE; ERICSSON; KEPIOS ANALYSIS. GROWTH DATA: WE ARE SOCIAL & HOOTSUITE’S DIGITAL IN 2017 REPORT.

4. POPULATION & ECONOMIC
GDP
PER CAPITA
Essential demographics & key economics indicators
9.47
Million
27.8% 72.2% +1.5% 30.3
Years Old
TOTAL
POPULATION
POPULATION LIVING
IN URBAN AREAS
LITERACY
(TOTAL)
FEMALE
LITERACY
MALE
LITERACY
86% $72,540 94% 96% 93%
FEMALE
POPULATION
MALE
POPULATION
ANNUAL CHANGE IN
POPULATION SIZE
MEDIAN
AGE
SOURCES: UNITED NATIONS; US CENSUS BUREAU; UNESCO; WORLD BANK, IMF; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK.

5. DEVICE USAGE
DEVICE FOR
STREAMING
INTERNET CONTENT
ON TV
Percentage of the adult population that currently uses each kind if device [survey-based]
99% 96% 71% 28%
MOBILE PHONE
(ANY TYPE)
TELEVISION
ANY KIND
E-READER
DEVICE
WEARABLE
TECH DEVICE
80% 7% 1% 11%
SMART PHONE LAPTOP OR
DESKTOP PC
TABLET
COMPUTER
SOURCE: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY. *NOTE: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT RESPONDENTS
ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS

6. TIME SPEND WITH MEDIA
Survey-based data: figures represent respondents’ self-reported activity
AVARAGE DAILY TIME
SPENT USING THE
INTERNET VIA ANY
DEVICE
7H 49M 2H 18M
AVARAGE DAILY TIME
SPENT
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
VIA ANY DEVICE
AVARAGE DAILY TV
VIEWING TIME
(BROADCASTING,
STREAMING &
VIDEO ON DEMAND)
AVARAGE DAILY TIME
SPENT LISTENING TO
STREAMING MUSIC
2H 56M 1H 03M
SOURCES: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU); INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; ALL LATEST REPORTED FIGURES AS OF JANUARY 2018.

7. ATTITUDE TOWARDS DIGITAL
Reports of the total number of Internet users from different data providers
BELIEVE THAT NEW
TECHNOLOGIES OFFER MORE
OPPORTUNITIES THAN RISKS
76% 80%
BELIEVE THAT NEW
TECHNOLOGIES OFFER MORE
OPPORTUNITIES THAN RISKS
BELIEVE DATA PRIVACY
AND PROTECTION ARE
VERY IMPORTANT
BELIEVE DATA PRIVACY
AND PROTECTION ARE
VERY IMPORTANT
72% 40%
SOURCES: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018; GLOBALWEBINDEX, Q2 & Q3, 2017. NOTES: GOOGLE FIGURES BASED ON A SURVEY OF ADULT
INTERNET USERS. SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON METHODOLOGY AND AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS. GLOBALWEBINDEX
FIGURES BASED ON A SURVEY OF INTERNET USERS AGED 16-64. *NOTE: THESE FIGURES ONLY REPRESENT THE ATTITUDES AND ACTIVITIES OF INTERNET USERS.
USE AN AD-BLOCKING
TOOL TO STOP ADVERTS
BEING DISPLAYED
34%

8. INTERNET USE
Based on reported internet user data & active use on data-enabled mobile devices
TOTAL NUMBER
OF ACTIVE
INTERNET USERS
9.38
MILLION
99% 9.13
MILLION
INTERNET USERS AS
A PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL POPULATION
TOTAL NUMBER OF
ACTIVE MOBILE
INTERNET USERS
MOBILE INTERNET
USERS AS A
PERCENTAGE OF THE
TOTAL POPULATION
96%
SOURCES: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; ITU; EUROSTAT; INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; MIDEASTMEDIA.ORG; FACEBOOK; GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS;
REGULATORY AUTHORITIES; REPUTABLE MEDIA; KEPIOS ANALYSIS. NOTES: PENETRATION FIGURES ARE FOR FULL POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

9. INTERNET USERS: DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Reports of the total number of Internet users from different data providers
INTERNET WORLD
STATS
8.52
MILLION
8.52
MILLION
INTERNATIONAL
TELECOMMUNICATION
UNION
INTERNET
LIVE STATS
CIA WORLD
FACTBOOK
8.58
MILLION
8.58
MILLION
SOURCES: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU); INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; ALL LATEST REPORTED FIGURES AS OF JANUARY 2018.

10. FREQUENCY OF INTERNET USE
How often internet users access the internet for personal reasons(any device)
EVERYDAY
93% 1%
AT LEAST ONCE
PER WEEK
AT LEAST ONCE
PER MONTH
LESS THAN ONCE
PER MONTH
6% 0%
SOURCE: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY. NOTES: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT RESPONDENTS
ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS.
VALUES MAY NOT SUM TO 100% DUE TO “DON’T KNOW” OR INCOMPLETE ANSWERS, OR DUE TO ROUNDING IN THE SOURCE DATA.

11. INTERNET CONNECTIONS: SPEED & DEVICES
Average internet connection speeds, and the device that people use most often to access the internet
AVERAGE INTERNET
CONNECTIONS SPEED
VIA FIXED
CONNECTIONS
25.69
MBPS
3%
AVERAGE INTERNET
SPEED VIA MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
ACCESS THE INTERNET
MOST OFTEN VIA A
PC OR TABLET
ACCESS EQUALLY VIA
A SMARTPHONE AND
COMPUTER OR
TABLET
50.2
MBPS
41%
SOURCES: OOKLA SPEEDTEST, NOVEMBER 2017; GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. GOOGLE’S FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY.
NOTES: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT RESPONDENTS ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S
METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS. DEVICE USAGE PERCENTAGES MAY NOT SUM TO 100% DUE TO “DON’T KNOW” OR INCOMPLETE ANSWERS
ACCESS THE INTERNET
MOST OFTEN VIA A
SMARTPHONE
52%

12. SHARE OF WEB TRAFFIC BY DEVICE
Based on each-devices share of all web pages served to the web browsers
LAPTOP &
DESKTOPS
MOBILE
PHONES
TABLET
DEVICES
OTHER
DEVICES
+36% +61% 3% 0.07%
-6% +6% -27%
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE
-30
SOURCES: STATCOUNTER, JANUARY 2018, AND STATCOUNTER, JANUARY 2017.

13. SIMILARWEB’S RANKINGS BASED ON AVERAGE
Ranking based on average monthly traffic to each website
SOURCES: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU); INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; ALL LATEST REPORTED FIGURES AS OF JANUARY 2018.
# WEBSITE CATEGORY MONTHLY
TRAFFIC
TIME PER
VISIT
PAGES PER
VISIT
01 GOOGLE.AE SEARCH 87,000,000 11M 28S 9.2
02 YOUTUBE.COM TV AND VIDEO 69,700,000 26M 39S 11.8
03 GOOGLE.COM SEARCH 53,000,000 13M 48S 15.1
04 FACEBOOK.COM SOCIAL 35,800,000 15M 37S 13.7
05 YAHOO.COM NEWS & MEDIA 10,500,000 8M 58S 7.3
06 WIKIPEDIA.ORG REFERENCE 8,300,000 4M 15S 3.5
07 SOUQ.COM SHOPPING 8,000,000 8M 17S 8.3
08 LIVE.COM EMAIL 7,300,000 9M 13S 8.9
09 WHATSAPP.COM SOCIAL 7,000,000 2M 38S 2.0
10 TWITTER.COM SOCIAL 6,300,000 12M 23S 8.9

14. ALEXA’S RANKING OF TOP WEBSITES
Ranking based on the number of visitors to each site & the number of pages viewed on each site per
visit
# WEBSITE TIME PAGES
01 GOOGLE.AE 6 MN 41S 9.58
02 YOUTUBE.COM 8 MN 18 S 4.79
03 GOOGLE.COM 7 MN 32 S 8.56
04 FACEBOOK.COM 10 MN 21 S 4.00
05 YAHOO.COM 4 MN 02 S 3.61
06 SOUQ.COM 6 MN 25 S 4.60
07 MANORAMAONLINE.COM 10 MN 4 S 3.31
08 WIKIPEDIA.ORG 4 MN 16 S 3.31
09 LIVE.COM 4 MN 03 S 3.41
10 STARZPLAY.COM 1 MN 26 S 1.21
# WEBSITE TIME PAGES
11 DUBIZZIE.COM 12 MN 48 S 9.08
12 MOKMHP.COM 0 MN 24 S 1.44
13 MATHRURBHUMI.COM 8 MN 17 S 4.93
14 APART.COM 7 MN 08 S 5.34
15 POPADS.NET 8 MN 45 S 3.61
16 KHALEEJTIMES.COM 4 MN 46 S 2.80
17 LINKEDIN.COM 5 MN 19 S 4.19
18 DELOTON.COM 1 MN 02 S 1.52
19 ABS-CBN.COM 3 MN 46 S 2.08
20 INSTAGRAM.COM 5 MN 23 S 3.34
SOURCE: ALEXA, JANUARY2018. NOTES: ‘TIME’ REPRESENTSTIME SPENTON SITE PER DAY. ‘PAGES’ REPRESENTSNUMBEROF PAGE VIEWS PER DAY. ALEXA USES A COMBINATIONOF AVERAGE
DAILY VISITORS AND PAGE VIEWS OVER A ONE-MONTHPERIOD TO CALCULATE ITS RANKING.RANKINGSON THIS SLIDE ARE BASED ON THE MONTHTO 16 JANUARY2018. ADVISORY:SOME
WEBSITESREFERENCEDON THIS SLIDE MAY CONTAINADULT CONTENT,OR CONTENTTHAT IS UNSUITABLEFOR THEWORKPLACE. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN VISITINGUNKNOWNWEBSITES.

15. WEEKLY ONLINE ACTIVITIES BY DEVICE
Percentage of the total population engaging in each activity at last once per week[ survey based]
71%
SMARTPHONE
33%
SMARTPHONE
86%
SMARTPHONE
28%
SMARTPHONE
80%
SMARTPHONE
USE A SEARCH
ENGINE
47%
COMPUTER
21%
COMPUTER
50%
COMPUTER
13%
COMPUTER
50%
COMPUTER
LOOK FOR
PRODUCT
INFORMATION
VISIT A SOCIAL
NETWORK
PLAY
GAMES
WATCH
VIDEOS
SOURCES: UNITED NATIONS; US CENSUS BUREAU; UNESCO; WORLD BANK, IMF; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK.

16. TOP GOOGLE SEARCH QUERIES IN 2017
Ranking of the top search terms entered into Google’s search engine throughout 2017
# QUERY INDEX
01 DUBAI 100
02 GOOGLE 24
03 YOUTUBE 23
04 FACEBOOK 20
05 NEWS 18
06 TRANSLATE 13
07 EMIRATES 13
08 YOU 12
09 GMAIL 9
10 CRICKET 8
# WEBSITE INDEX
11 DUBIZZ 6
12 WEATHER 6
13 HINDI MOVIE 6
14 YAHOO 6
15 FACEBOOK LOGIN 6
16 GOOGLE TRANSLATE 6
17 MANOROMA 6
18 MAP 5
19 YAHOO MAIL 5
20 LIVE CRICKET 4
SOURCE: GOOGLE TRENDS, JANUARY 2018. NOTES: GOOGLE DOES NOT PUBLISH SEARCH VOLUMES, BUT THE ‘INDEX’ COLUMN SHOWS RELATIVE VOLUME FOR EACH QUERY
COMPARED TO THE SEARCH VOLUME FOR THE TOP QUERY (AN INDEX OF 50 MEANS THAT THE QUERY RECEIVED 50% OF THE SEARCH VOLUME OF THE TOP QUERY).

17. FREUENCY OF WATCHING ONLINE VIDEO
Essential demographics & key economics indicators
67% 23% 1% 6% 4%
WATCH ONLINE
VIDEOS EVERY
DAY
WATCH ONLINE
VIDEOS EVERY
WEEK
WATCH ONLINE
VIDEOS EVERY
MONTH
WATCH ONLINE VIDEOS
LESS THAN ONCE A
MONTH
NEVER WATCH
ONLINE VIDEOS
SOURCE: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY. NOTE: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT INTERNET USERS
ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS.

18. HOW INTERNET USERS WATCH TELEVISION
Comparison of the methods and devices used for accessing and displaying “television content”
25% 19% 17% 17%
REGULAR
TELEVISION
ON A TV SET
RECORDED
CONTENT
ON A TV SET
CATCH-UP /
ON-DEMAND
SERVICE ON TV SET
ONLINE CONTENT
STREAMED ON
A TV SET
ONLINE CONTENT
STREAMED ON
ANOTHER DEVICE
SOURCE: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY. NOTE: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT INTERNET USERS
ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS.
80%

19. SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Based on monthly active users reported by the most active social media in Bangladesh
+99% 92%
TOTAL NUMBER
OF ACTIVE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
ACTIVE SOCIAL USERS
AS A PERCENTAGE
OF THE TOTAL
POPULATION
TOTAL NUMBER OF
SOCIAL USERS
ACCESSING VIA MOBILE
ACTIVE MOBILE SOCIAL
USERS AS A PERCENTAGE
OF THE TOTAL
POPULATION
9.38
Million
8.70
Million
SOURCES: FACEBOOK; TENCENT; VKONTAKTE; KAKAO; NAVER; DING; TECHRASA; SIMILARWEB; KEPIOS ANALYSIS
NOTE: PENETRATION FIGURES ARE FOR TOTAL POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

20. MOST ACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
Based on monthly active users reported by the most active social media in Bangladesh
SOURCE: GLOBALWEBINDEX, Q2 & Q3 2017. BASED ON A SURVEY OF INTERNET USERS AGED 16-64. NOTES: DATA FOR PLATFORMS WITH AN ASTERISK (*) IS COLLECTED IN A DIFFERENT PART
OF THE SURVEY TO OTHER PLATFORM DATA. ALL DATA HAS BEEN REBASED TO SHOW TOTAL NATIONAL PENETRATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE. ADVISORY: FIGURES ARE BASED ON RESPONSES
TO A SURVEY, AND MAY NOT CORRELATE TO SOCIAL MEDIA PENETRATION FIGURES SHOWN ELSEWHERE IN THIS REPORT; FOR FULL DETAILS, SEE THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT.

21. FACEBOOK USAGE ANALYSIS
A closer look at Facebook use, broken down by mobile use & self-declared gender of users
10.00
Million
+9% 87% 28% 72%
ANNUAL CHANGE IN
FACEBOOK USERS
VS. JANUARY 2017
TOTAL NUMBER OF
MONTHLY ACTIVE
FACEBOOK USERS
PERCENTAGE OF
FACEBOOK USERS
ACCESSING VIA MOBILE
PERCENTAGE OF
FACEBOOK PROFILES
DECLARED AS FEMALE
PERCENTAGE OF
FACEBOOK PROFILES
DECLARED AS MALE
SOURCE: EXTRAPOLATION OF FACEBOOK DATA, JANUARY 2018.

22. PROFILE OF FACEBOOK USERS
A breakdown of the country’s Facebook users by age and gender, in thousands.
SOURCE: EXTRAPOLATION OF FACEBOOK DATA, JANUARY 2018. NOTES: THE ‘TOTAL’ COLUMN OF THE INSET TABLE SHOWS ORIGINAL VALUES,
WHILE GRAPH VALUES HAVE BEEN DIVIDED BY ONE THOUSAND. TABLE PERCENTAGES REPRESENT THE RESPECTIVE GENDER AND AGE GROUP’S
SHARE OF TOTAL NATIONAL FACEBOOK USERS. TABLE VALUES MAY NOT SUM EXACTLY DUE TO ROUNDING IN THE SOURCE DATA.
AGE TOTAL FEMALE(%) MALE(%)
13-17 220000 0.9 1
18-24 2100000 6 15
25-34 4500000 12 33
35-44 2200000 5 16
45-54 720000 2 5
55-64 200000 0.6 1
65+ 110000 0.4 0.7
AGE FEMAE MALE
13-17 91 129
18-24 590 1486
25-34 1220 3270
35-44 610 1585
45-54 193 525
55-64 57 139
65+ 39 66

23. AVERAGE FACEBOOK PAGE POST REACH
Average monthly growth in page likes, Average reach of page posts vs. page likes & paid media
+1.87% 10.9% 6.9% 41.0% 34.0%
AVERAGE POST
REACH VS.
PAGE LIKES
AVERAGE
MONTHLY CHANGE
IN PAGE LIKES
AVERAGE
ORGANIC REACH
VS. PAGE LIKES
PERCENTAGE OF
PAGES USING
PAID MEDIA
AVERAGE PAID
REACH VS.
TOTAL REACH
SOURCE: LOCOWISE, JANUARY 2018. DATA REPRESENTS AVERAGE FIGURES FOR FULL-YEAR 2017. NOTE: REACH FIGURES COMPARE THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT A
POST WAS SERVED IN USERS’ NEWSFEEDS TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGE ‘FANS’ (I.E. USERS THAT HAD LIKED THE PAGE) AT THE TIME THAT THE POST WAS PUBLISHED.

24. AVERAGE FACEBOOK ENGAGEMENT RATES
The no. of people who engage with a FB page posts vs. the no. of people that those posts reach
3.19% 4.08% 4.99% 4.80% 4.31%
AVERAGE
ENGAGEMENT RATE
FOR FACEBOOK
PAGE POSTS
(ALL TYPES)
AVERAGE
ENGAGEMENT RATE
FOR FACEBOOK
PAGE VIDEO POSTS
AVERAGE
ENGAGEMENT RATE
FOR FACEBOOK
PAGE PHOTO POSTS
AVERAGE
ENGAGEMENT RATE
FOR FACEBOOK
PAGE LINK POSTS
AVERAGE
ENGAGEMENT RATE
FOR FACEBOOK
PAGE STATUS POSTS
SOURCE: LOCOWISE, JANUARY 2018. DATA REPRESENTS AVERAGE FIGURES FOR FULL-YEAR 2017. NOTE: ENGAGEMENT RATES COMPARE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO INTERACTED
WITH A POST TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF UNIQUE USERS TO WHOM THAT POST WAS SERVED, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THOSE USERS WERE FANS OF THE PAGE AT THAT TIME.

25. INSTAGRAM USAGE ANALYSIS
An overview of monthly active Instagram users, broken down by gender
3.30
Million
35% 38% 62%
TOTAL NUMBER OF
MONTHLY ACTIVE
INSTAGRAM USERS
ACTIVE INSTAGRAM
USERS AS A
PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL POPULATION
FEMALE USERS AS A
PERCENTAGE OF ALL
ACTIVE INSTAGRAM
USERS
MALE USERS AS A
PERCENTAGE OF ALL
ACTIVE INSTAGRAM
USERS
SOURCE: EXTRAPOLATION OF DATA FROM INSTAGRAM (VIA FACEBOOK), JANUARY 2018. PENETRATION RATES ARE FOR TOTAL POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

26. MOBILE USERS vs. MOBILE CONNECTIONS
Comparing the number of unique mobile users to the number of unique mobile users to the number of mobile connection
7.31
MILLION
77% 19.18
MILLION
202% 2.63
NUMBER OF
UNIQUE
MOBILE USERS (ANY
TYPE OF HANDSET)
MOBILE
PENETRATION
(UNIQUE USERS vs.
TOTAL
POPULATION)
TOTAL NUMBER
OF MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
AS A PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL POPULATION
AVERAGE NUMBER OF
CONNECTIONS PER
UNIQUE MOBILE USER
SOURCE: EXTRAPOLATION OF FACEBOOK DATA, JANUARY 2018. NOTES: THE ‘TOTAL’ COLUMN OF THE INSET TABLE SHOWS ORIGINAL VALUES,
WHILE GRAPH VALUES HAVE BEEN DIVIDED BY ONE THOUSAND. TABLE PERCENTAGES REPRESENT THE RESPECTIVE GENDER AND AGE GROUP’S
SHARE OF TOTAL NATIONAL FACEBOOK USERS. TABLE VALUES MAY NOT SUM EXACTLY DUE TO ROUNDING IN THE SOURCE DATA.

27. MOBILE CONNECTIONS BY TYPE
TOTAL NUMBER
OF MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
Based on the number of cellular connections (not unique individuals)
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
AS A PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL POPULATION
PERCENTAGE OF
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
THAT ARE PRE-PAID
PERCENTAGE OF
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
THAT ARE POST-PAID
PERCENTAGE OF MOBILE
CONNECTIONS THAT ARE
BROADBAND (3G & 4G)
19.18
Million
202% 83% 17% 80%
SOURCE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE, Q4 2017. NOTE: PENETRATION FIGURES ARE FOR TOTAL POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

28. MOBILE CONNECTIVITY INDEX
OVERALL
COUNTRY
INDEX SCORE
GSMA Intelligence’s assessment of the country’s key enablers & drivers of mobile connectivity
MOBILE NETWORK
INFRASTRUCTURE
ACTIVE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
ACTIVE MOBILE
SOCIAL USERS
72.29 68.14 81.88 67.48
OUT OF MAXIMUM
POSSIBLE SCORE OF 100
72.55
OUT OF MAXIMUM
POSSIBLE SCORE OF 100
OUT OF MAXIMUM
POSSIBLE SCORE OF 100
OUT OF MAXIMUM
POSSIBLE SCORE OF 100
OUT OF MAXIMUM
POSSIBLE SCORE OF 100
SOURCE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE, Q4 2017. TO ACCESS THE COMPLETE MOBILE CONNECTIVITY INDEX, VISIT HTTP://WWW.MOBILECONNECTIVITYINDEX.COM/

29. MOBILE ACTIVITES
PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION USING
MOBILE MESSENGERS
Survey-based data: figures represent respondents’ self-reported activity
PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION WATCHING
VIDEOS ON MOBIL
GAMES ON MOBILE
PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION
PLAYINGE
PERCENTAGE
OF THE POPULATION
USING MOBILE
BANKING
PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION USING
MOBILE MAP SERVICES
92% 89% 66% 54% 84%
SOURCES: UNIQUE MOBILE USERS: GSMA INTELLIGENCE, JANUARY 2018; GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018;
MOBILE CONNECTIONS: GSMA INTELLIGENCE, Q4 2017. NOTE: PENETRATION FIGURES ARE FOR TOTAL POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

30. SMARTPHONE LIFE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
Percentage of the total population using a smartphone to perform each task[ survey based]
68% 24% 26% 16%
USE THE ALARM
CLOCK FUNCTION
TAKE PHOTOS
OR VIDEOS
READ E-BOOKS
OR E-MAGAZINES
MANAGE LISTS
(E.G. SHOPPING, TASKS)
72%
MANAGE DIARY
OR APPOINTMENTS
CHECK THE
WEATHER
TRACK HEALTH, DIET,
OR ACTIVITY LEVELS
SOURCE: GLOBALWEBINDEX, Q2 & Q3 2017. BASED ON A SURVEY OF INTERNET USERS AGED 16-64.
NOTE: DATA HAS BEEN REBASED TO SHOW TOTAL NATIONAL PENETRATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.
14% 19%40%
CHECK
THE NEWS

31. FINANCIAL INCLUSION FACTORS
% of the population aged 15+ that reports owning or using each financial product or service
84% 37% 11% 34%
HAS A BANK
ACCOUNT
PERCENTAGES OF
WOMEN WITH A
CREDIT CARD
25%
HAS A CREDIT
CARD
MAKES AND/ OR
RECEIVED MOBILE
PAYMENTS VIA GSMA
MAKES ONLINE
PURCHASES AND/ OR
PAYS BILL ONLINE
PERCENTAGES OF
MEN WITH A
CREDIT CARD
PERCENTAGES OF
MEN MAKING
INTERNET PAYMENTS
PERCENTAGES OF
WOMEN MAKING
INTERNET PAYMENTS
42% 31% 35%
SOURCE: WORLD BANK GLOBAL FINANCIAL INCLUSION DATA (2015). NOTE: FIGURES REPRESENT THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE AGED 15+, NOT TOTAL POPULATION.

32. E-COMMERECE ACTIVITIES IN PAST 30 DAYS
SEARCHED ONLINE
FOR A PRODUCT
OR SERVICE TO BUY
GSMA Intelligence’s assessment of the country’s key enablers & drivers of mobile connectivity
VISITED
AN ONLINE
RETAIL STORE
PURCHASED A
PRODUCT OR
SERVICE ONLINE
MADE AN ONLINE
PURCHASE VIA A LAPTOP
OR DESKTOP COMPUTER
MADE AN ONLINE
PURCHASE VIA A LAPTOP
OR DESKTOP COMPUTER
85% 91% 63% 45% 45%
SOURCE: GLOBALWEBINDEX, Q2 & Q3 2017. BASED ON A SURVEY OF INTERNET USERS AGED 16-64.
NOTE: DATA HAS BEEN REBASED TO SHOW TOTAL NATIONAL PENETRATION, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

33. ADVERTISING MEDIA: FIRST AWARENESS
The channel that first introduced internet users* to a product or service that they subsequently purchased
SOURCE: GOOGLE CONSUMER BAROMETER, JANUARY 2018. FIGURES BASED ON RESPONSES TO A SURVEY. *NOTE: DATA REPRESENTS ADULT INTERNET USERS ONLY; PLEASE SEE THE
NOTES AT THE END OF THIS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GOOGLE’S METHODOLOGY AND THEIR AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS. FIGURES MAY NOT TOTAL TO 100% DUE TO ROUNDING.

34. DIGITAL IN 2018 GLOBAL REPORT
DATA COMPILATION BY
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WE ARE SOCIAL’S RESOURCE
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HOOTSUITE’S RESOURCE
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THE GLOBAL OVERVIEW REPORT

35. SPECIAL THANKS

36. We’d also like to offer our thanks to the following data providers for
publishing much of the remaining data included in this year’s reports
Lastly, a big thanks to the Flaticon, who
supplied and inspired the icons we used in these reports

37. L O C A T I O N
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2nd Floor, Sheikh Zayed Road,
Dubai, UAE,
Po Box: 191 222
hello@hypedigital.ae
+971 (0)52 540 89 06
C O N T A C T U S
DIGITAL IN UAE 2018 REPORT
CURATED BY
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understanding of business development,
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