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UAE leads Arab world in e-government services

Dubai - 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 in the 2015 E-performance Index with an average of 67.35 per cent, according to new research launched on Tuesday.
The research revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Gulf countries constitutes around 60 per cent of the total Arab world GDP. Saudi Arabia ranked first in the 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 37.5 per cent in 2014 to over 55 per cent in 2018, or about seven 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 research consultant Abdul Kader Al Kamli, the Arab Knowledge Economy report provides insights on the region's economic framework.
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.
Al Kamli said: "The Arab world is in the midst of change following social and political upheavals. In the face of these reforms, many countries in 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 changing oil prices. This has prompted a shift towards establishing a diversified economy with a focus on cultivating a knowledge economy, evident in the increased investment towards ICT infrastructure. Considerable improvement has been made across health and service delivery."
He 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, followed by Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, Tunis, Casablanca, Baghdad, Kuwait and Manama."
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com