The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are among the leading countries for social media usage, according to a report by UNESCO.
A new study has unveiled the extent to which how the Middle East utilises social media for communication and business. This latest study reveals that social media usage is pervasive across the Middle East, with the MENA region leading the way in the take-up and usage of multiple platforms.
The study said that five MENA nations can be seen in the top 10 for take-up of social networks. The UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have the highest levels of adoption in the world, according to findings. According to the report, people in the Middle East and Africa spend more than three hours a day on social media.
Breaking findings down by social media network, the UNESCO study found:
- The Top 5 countries in the world for reach on YouTube are all in the region. Lebanon leads the way, followed by Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and UAE.
- It’s the same on TikTok. The top five spots for the app, by reach, are all held by Middle East nations (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq). Nine MENA nations are in the Top 20.
- Nine of the top 16 nations in the world using Snapchat are in MENA, based on reach, as are five of the top 20 markets (by total audience size) globally. Bahrain has the highest reach (79.8 per cent) of any national market in the world.
- Libya has the largest reach for Facebook globally, with 96.1 per cent of those aged 13 and above using the social network. Worldwide, Libya is also ranked second in the adoption of Facebook Messenger, with three-quarters of those aged 13 and above (75 per cent) using the app.
- Four MENA nations can be found in the top 20 for reach on Instagram, while Turkey is now the fifth largest market for Instagram, globally, with nearly 49m users.
- Three countries in MENA can be found in the top 20 markets for Twitter; and viewed by market share, the region has five spots in the top 20.
