UAE emerges as best connected Arab country

The UAE, along with Bahrain and KSA emerged as the “best connected” Arab countries. (Getty Images)

The UAE has emerged as the best connected Arab country followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, according to the Arab Advisors Group’s latest Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM), which looks at the penetration rates of household fixed lines, mobiles and internet in each country.

The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scored 321%, 249% and 248% respectively in the survey, owing to their extensive adoption of telecoms services compared with other countries in the region.

While Qatar gained a respectable score of 205%, putting it in fourth place, other Gulf countries struggled in comparison to the top three. Kuwait emerged as the next highest scoring country in the Middle East, with a score of 184%, followed by Oman on 170%. Jordan, Syria and Lebanon followed with scores of 141%, 129% and 125% respectively.

Iraq and Palestine trailed on 100% and 95%, possibly reflecting internal difficulties faced by both countries. Yemen languished in last place among the Middle East countries with a score of just 55%.

Many of the African countries surveyed performed relatively strongly. Libya came in fifth place overall with a score of 199%, while Algeria and Egypt followed with scores of 141% and 128% respectively. Tunisia scored 128%, Morocco 127%, Mauritania 74%, while Sudan came last with just 34%.

For Jordan-based Arab Advisors Group, the lower scores of many of the countries represent a huge opportunity, with latent demand likely to drive significant telecoms growth in the next few years.

“Only four out of the nineteen countries covered in this year’s study have a total country connectivity measure that exceeds a 200%,” said Andrawes Snobar, research manager, Arab Advisors Group.

“This indicates a substantial potential for more growth in most Arab markets, especially in the under penetrated Internet markets.”

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM