The UAE is ninth globally and first regionally in the “Digital Competitiveness Report 2025”

The UAE ranked ninth globally in the Global Digital Competitiveness Report 2025, issued by the International Institute for Administrative Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, strengthening its position among the top 10 countries in the world in digital performance, and maintaining its regional lead, outperforming a number of advanced global economies, confirming its ability to keep pace with accelerating technological transformations, and building an integrated digital development model based on innovation, artificial intelligence, and human capital.

Director General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, Engineer Majid Sultan Al-Mesmar, said: “The UAE’s achievement of ninth place globally in the Digital Competitiveness Index for the year 2025 reflects the efficiency of its digital system and the maturity of its technical structure at the governmental and economic levels, and confirms its position as a global model in building an integrated, flexible and secure digital infrastructure capable of accelerating the pace of innovation and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.”

He added: “We view this progress as the result of integrated institutional cooperation between government and private agencies, which worked in one spirit to raise the efficiency of digital performance and consolidate the sustainability of development in this field. This achievement reflects the steady path that the UAE is taking towards global leadership, as digital transformation has become an established national approach that contributes to improving the quality of life and supporting sustainable economic growth.”

For her part, Director of the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, Hanan Mansour Ahli, confirmed that “the UAE’s results in the Global Digital Competitiveness Report reflect its distinguished paths in digital transformation at the regional and global levels, and confirm the success of national policies and strategies in building a sustainable knowledge economy, by empowering national competencies to develop their skills and enhancing their readiness to keep pace with rapid technological transformations, thus enhancing the UAE’s position as a leading global model in digital transformation, and ensuring the provision of a knowledge environment and opportunities.” Sustainable for future generations, and building a society based on innovation, knowledge and future sciences.”

The UAE achieved first place globally in a number of qualitative indicators, including the spread of Internet use, the expansion of high-speed communication networks, the availability of investment capital, the efficiency of partnership between the government and private sectors, and the advancement of digital skills, in addition to global leadership in attracting international students and the availability of global expertise.

The country ranked among the top five globally in 15 indicators, and among the top 10 in 22 indicators, which reflects the depth of digital development and its comprehensiveness across sectors.

The report showed that the UAE advanced to ninth place globally in the latest edition of the report after it was ranked 18th in the first edition in 2017, thus achieving a steady upward path in digital competitiveness, which indicates the maturity of the national digital environment and the proactiveness of government policies. The report also confirmed that the UAE continues to be at the forefront of countries in the region, remaining the only country regionally among the top 10 globally in this field.

The report indicated that the UAE achieved advanced results in the main axes of digital competitiveness, as it ranked fifth globally in the axis of preparing for the future as a result of its high ability to adopt emerging technologies and develop advanced digital systems. It also came in sixth place globally in the technology axis, thanks to progress in digital infrastructure, expanding the scope of investments in advanced technology and digital government services, in addition to achieving 12th place globally in the axis of knowledge, as a result of national programs aimed at developing scientific skills and capabilities and supporting specialized education in the fields of the future.

The report pointed out that the UAE has succeeded in maintaining the sustainability of its digital momentum despite the global challenges resulting from economic and geopolitical transformations and changes in technical supply chains, strengthening its position among the best global models capable of maintaining its digital openness, flexible policies, and encouragement of an innovation environment.

The report also recorded for the first time data related to patents in artificial intelligence and private investments in this field, and the results showed the UAE’s regional superiority in these indicators, which reflects the directions of the national strategy for artificial intelligence and its vision towards an advanced knowledge economy.

The results are consistent with the country’s strategic directions, which include the UAE Centennial 2071, the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, and the Digital Government Strategy, in addition to the pioneering initiatives launched by the country to develop and build young talents, such as the One Million Arab Coders Initiative, technical education initiatives, advanced research laboratories, and programs to empower specialized national talents.

The results reflect the UAE’s position as a global model in digital transformation and leading the economy of the future, and reflect the leadership’s vision of building a pioneering digital development system capable of competing, creating opportunities, developing national capabilities, and providing an economic environment based on innovation, knowledge, and future sciences.

• The UAE ranks first globally in a number of qualitative indicators, most notably the spread of the Internet, the expansion of high-speed communications networks, the availability of investment capital, and the efficiency of partnership between the government and private sectors.