UAE named social media capital of the world

A study found that there are more Facebook users registered here than the population in the country

by

Waheed Abbas

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Top Stories

Published: Tue 9 May 2023, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Wed 10 May 2023, 10:05 AM

The UAE has been named the social media capital of the world as the country is home to a large number of social media influencers as well as more businesses tapping social media to promote and sell their products in the country.

The UAE residents also have social media accounts across a number of platforms, especially Facebook and TikTok.


“With an almost perfect score of 9.55 out of 10, the UAE takes the top spot as the social media capital of the world. People in the UAE have an average of 8.2 social media platforms, the third highest in the world, joint with the Philippines. UAE also has the highest percentage of people with Facebook at over 100 per cent,” said Proxyrack, which provides proxies and residential VPN services.

The study found that, based on the data of World Population Review, there are more Facebook users registered in the UAE than the population in the country.


Social media influencers in the UAE attribute the massive popularity of this new medium to the higher number of social media influencers in the country as well as businesses increasingly tapping influencers to sell and promote their products among the masses.

Jumana Khan, a social media celebrity with over nine million followers on TikTok, said the UAE, especially Dubai, is always a happening place and the majority of residents own smartphones and have internet access, so they tend to upload and share photos and videos of those events with their friends and families.

“Also, there are so many entrepreneurs and social media influencers, therefore, the usage of social media is really huge. Almost all the people in the country have social media accounts. There is branding also happening through social media which has become a mini media where everything is short, quick and entertaining at the same time,” she said.

The TikTok star added that the content that is uploaded on social media in the country is monitored by the authorities, hence, people cannot influence others in a wrong way.

Interestingly, Khan added, social media platforms also provide job opportunities to people, especially in the creative field.

Another popular social media influencer and Tiktoker Mohammed Al Zarouni, who goes by the name of “Power of Sharjah” has been quite popular among the expatriate community for assisting and solving their issues related to visas and jobs.

“Many people in the UAE have social media accounts and many companies are now inviting social media influencers to promote their products,” he said.

According to Proxyrack report, the UAE is followed by Malaysia/the Philippines with both countries scoring 8.75, Saudi Arabia (8.41), Singapore (7.96), Vietnam (7.62), Brazil (7.62), Thailand (7.61), Indonesia (7.5) and Hong Kong (7.27).

The study also rated the UAE the most connected country in the world with a score of 7.53 out of 10, followed by Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Argentina, Vietnam and Taiwan.

However, when it comes to best internet access, the UAE has been ranked fourth after South Korea, Hong Kong and Denmark.

The study revealed that UAE consumers on average spend seven hours and 29 minutes a day on the Internet each day, which is the 13th highest in the world.

Internet usage has increased in the UAE and globally after the coronavirus pandemic as more people work from home and many businesses also opted to deal with clients virtually for its cost-efficiency.

South Africa topped with average use of nine hours and 38 minutes per day.

ALSO READ:


More news from UAE