CHAPTER 7 | Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology
Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai downtown.
117 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai_DED DubaiDED Dubai DED his chapter highlights the importance of these sectors as drivers of economic growth, foreign investment, a
well-managed infrastructure to effectively support trans- port of goods in and around the country, and a world class T road system and modern public transportation system by
metro, bus, taxi, waterbuses and ferries, and mass transit. The UAE ranks
first globally in terms of government procurement of high technology
products and innovation capacity. The ICT sector is attractive to foreign direct investment (FDI) which has doubled over the last decade (2007-
2016), reaching USD$6,017 million in 2016.
↗ Dubai and the UAE rank first globally for the quality of transport infrastructure, outperforming most countries of the world, including
many in the developed world.
↗ The transport and storage sector is the second largest contributor
to Dubai’s GDP, contributing 11.8 per cent in 2017.
↗ The emirate’s road network is recognized as the best globally in terms of safety and efficiency.
↗ Dubai is home to two of the world’s best airports in terms of effi-
ciency and quality of service.
↗ The Al Maktoum International Airport project is part of Dubai World Central, one of Dubai’s largest air transport projects, and includes
the construction of the world’s first fully integrated airport city.
↗ According to the Global Competitiveness Report (2017–2018) issued by the World Economic Forum, the UAE ranks first globally in terms of government procurement of high technology products.
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Economic Growth Promoted by World Class Infrastructure Dubai’s investment in transportation, storage, and ICT has created a fertile and profitable environment for foreign investment, international trade, and tourism.
1 World Class Transport and Storage Sector
The UAE has a world class transport and storage sector that is poised to only improve over time.
st for road quality 1 in the world
According to the th for the highest quality of port infrastructure World Economic Forum, 4 st the UAE ranks: in the world (1 in GCC)
rd for the highest quality of air transport infrastructure 3 st in the world (1 in GCC)
2 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Total FDI in the transport and storage sector has almost doubled from 2007-2018 to US $5,214 million 3 Government Procurement Total FDI in ICT The UAE is #1 in government sector has doubled procurement of high technology from 2007-2016 to products. US $6,017 million
FDI for Transport FDI for ICT: st & Storage: GLOBALLY 1in government US$6,017 procurement of US$5,214 MILLION high technology MILLION products globally US$2,863 US$2,555 MILLION MILLION
2007 2016 2007 2016
119 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai_DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7
Overview
The Transport and Storage sector in Dubai has a Given the pivotal importance of the transport sector, special importance beyond its position as one of the the Government of Dubai is continuously developing main economic sectors in the emirate in terms of its plans and strategies to improve it, not only by making contribution to GDP. This stems from its interrelation- financial allocations to support investment in its expan- ships with other economic sectors, especially trade sion, but also by enhancing and improving the quality and tourism. The quality of the emirate’s transport of various transport services. Dubai and the UAE rank infrastructure is a determinant of Dubai’s international first globally in terms of the quality of transport infra- competitiveness and of foreign investment inflows. The structure, outperforming most countries of the world, transport and logistics infrastructure is closely linked including many of those in the developed world. to both domestic trade and foreign trade. The ability of the country to offer its products and services with The Government of Dubai has also established appro- the required speed, efficiency and reliability is one of priate institutional, organizational and administrative the fundamental determinants of its competitiveness frameworks given the importance of transport and in international trade. Throughout human history, the communications in the economy. The responsibilities most developed and economically prosperous coun- for managing and supervising the sector are distribut- tries are the ones which are easily accessible and well ed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) connected to their trading partners. In addition finan- and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. While the former cial activity in modern economies, particularly in the is responsible for the regulation and management of service industries, increasingly depends on the effi- land, sea and rail (Dubai Metro) means of transport, the ciency of the information and communications (ICT latter is responsible for managing and regulating air sector and its ability to deliver voice and digital data. transport and shipping. The supervision of ICT service This is bolstered by rising consumer demand for infor- providers (Etisalat and du) is the responsibility of the mation and entertainment services as living standards Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. rise. Although smaller than the transport sector Dubai is widely regarded as having one of the most competitive telecommunications industries in the MENA region.
Dubai and the UAE rank first globally for the quality of transport infrastructure, outperforming most countries of the world, including many in the developed world.
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Contribution of the Transport and Communication sectors to Dubai’s GDP
7.1 The transport and communications sectors This growth was reflected in changes in contribution
grew at differing rates in 2017. While the of the two sectors to the total GDP of the emirate. The output of the transport and storage sector share of the transport and storage sector increased grew by 4.5 per cent in constant prices on the previous slightly from about 11.6 per cent of GDP in 2016 to year, the ICT sector grew by about 2 per cent in the 11.8 per cent in 2017, making it the second largest same year. (Figure 7.1) contributor to Dubai’s GDP. The contribution of the ICT
sector was stable at about 4 per cent in both 2016 and
2017. (Figure 7.2)
121 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7
Figure 7.1: Growth Rates of Transport , Storage and Communications
14.6 15 13.0
11.4
9.3 10
5.15.2 4.6 4.7 4.5 5 4.0 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.6 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.8 1.9 2.1
0.7 0.6 0.1
0
-1.8
-5 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
GDP Growth Rate % Transportation & Storage Communication Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Figure 7.2: The Shares of Transport, Logistics, Information, and Telecommunications Sectors in Dubai’s GDP
15
11.7 11.8 11.4 11.6 11.3 11.2 11.1 10.6
10
4.1 4.1 5 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.6 3.5 3.7
0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Transportation & Storage Communication Source: Dubai Statistics Center
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The Transport and Storage sector
7.2 In light of the attention paid to infrastructure as shown by the liner shipping connectivity index,
quality by the UAE in general and Dubai in where the UAE ranked first among GCC countries
particular, it is no surprise that the United in the last three years. (Figure 7.3) Arab Emirates topped some major infrastructure quality indicators, as shown in the World Economic In the quality of air transport infrastructure indica- 1 Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018 . tor, the United Arab Emirates ranked in third place globally and first among GCC countries, reflecting The United Arab Emirates ranked first in the world in the high quality of transport and storage infrastruc- the road quality index. The next highest ranked Arab ture in the country. (Table 7.1) country in this category was Oman (14), followed by
Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (17, 25, 34 The latest available data on the overall performance and 63 respectively). In the port infrastructure qual- of the World Bank’s logistics performance index are ity index, the United Arab Emirates ranked fourth consistent with previous data; not only does the UAE globally and first among the GCC countries. The outperform the GCC, but its score is higher than the
UAE has a strong link with most of the world’s ports, average of EU countries. (Figure 7.4)
Figure 7.3: Link of UAE and the GCC ports with most of the world’s ports (Maximum value in 2004 = 100)
70.4 70.6 66.5 64.8 61.3 61.8
49.9 48.4 47.4
27.0 26.7 26.5
8.2 8.9 8.9 5.2 5.2 3.9
KSA UAE Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Oman
Source: World Bank: World Development Indicators, 2018(https://datacatalog.worldbank. 2014 2015 2016 org/dataset/world-development-indicators).
1 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2017-2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2017%E2%80%932018.pdf
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Table 7.1: The Quality of Infrastructure in the UAE and the GCC
Countries Quality of roads Quality of port infrastructure Quality of air transport infrastructure
Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value
UAE 1 6.4 4 6.2 3 6.6
Oman 14 5.5 48 4.6 56 4.7
Qatar 17 5.5 12 5.6 6 6.3
Bahrain 25 5.1 30 5.1 49 4.9
KSA 34 4.8 42 4.7 46 4.9
Kuwait 63 4.1 78 3.8 117 3.2
Source: World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2018.
Figure 7.4: GCC Logistics Performance Index for 2016
3.94
3.61 3.60
3.31 3.23 3.16 3.15
2.71
European Arab World KSA UAE Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Oman Union
Source: World Bank: World Development Indicators, 2018
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The transport and storage sector in the emirate has The transport and storage sector is one of the sectors seen significant growth in recent years according to a that is particularly attractive to foreign investment number of sectoral indicators. The number of workers because of its importance in the economy and the employed in the sector increased from about 232,000 growth and expansion opportunities it offers. Total in 2011 to about 241,000 in 2013, then 262,000 in foreign direct investment in the transport and stor-
2015and to 273,000 in 2016. age sector has almost doubled during the last decade (2007-2016), rising from US$ 2,863 million in 2007 to
The average annual growth rate in the number of US$ 3,575 million in 2009, to US$ 4,251 million in 2014, workers was 4.7 per cent during the period (2007- and finally to US$ 5,214 million in 2016. (Figure 7.6)
2016). The year 2016 witnessed a growth of 4.3 per cent. (Figure 7.5)
Figure 7.5: Growth rates of transport and storage workforce, 2007-2016
9 7.9 8 7 6.4 6.4 7
6 4.9
5 4.3 3.7
4 3.1
3 2.1
2 0.8
1
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Figure 7.6: Total FDI stock in Transport and Storage sector (US$ Million)
6,000 5,214
5,000 4,444 4,294 4,177 4,251 3,942 4,000 3,575 3,282 3,364 2,863 3,000
2,000
1,000
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
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Land transport 7.3 Land transport involves the transport of indi- attention to it, making it the best globally in terms of
viduals and goods. Individuals in Dubai move safety and efficiency. This has led to an increase in the around using private cars and public transport, number of cars and buses that use Dubai’s network, including public buses, metro and taxis, while goods are making the emirate one of the most densely populat- moved by trucks. The road network is one of the most ed cities in the world in terms of its car-to-population important public assets that, when developed and ratio. This ratio is also high because of other economic improved, offers many economic and social benefits, factors such as the high level of per capita income and including quick and safe transport. This reduces the the level of economic prosperity in the emirate. In order operating costs of running buses, cars and trucks, to counter the environmental impact of carbon dioxide making transporting goods and individuals more effi- emissions arising from a high number of cars per capi- cient raising profits and the welfare of society’s members. ta, the Government of Dubai has undertaken several initiatives in cooperation with local and federal author-
Recognizing the pivotal role played by the road network ities to help make the emirate a “green economy.” in the transport sector, the emirate has paid great
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Mass transit system
7.4 As part of the Government of Dubai’s than the number of passengers using public buses.
efforts to enhance the welfare of its resi- Metro travel increases more than five times during
dents and encourage the use of public 2010-2017, from about 39,000 passengers in 2010 transport to preserve the environment, an integrated to close to 201,000 passengers annually in 2017. mass transport network has been developed, cover- Public bus use increased from about 110,000 ing most areas within the emirate and offering its passengers annually to about 155,000 passengers services to all segments of society efficiently, safely annually during the same period. (Figure 7.7) and cost effectively. Not only did the Government of
Dubai provide public buses, but it intensified its RTA has signed a contract to build Route 2020, efforts to reduce environmental pollution and provide which will extend the Red Line of Dubai Metro from alternative high quality means of transport. It has also Nakheel Harbor and Tower Station to the Expo 2020 built two metro lines, the Red Line and the Green Line, site, adding 15 km, of track including 11.8 km above with 87 trains in operation covering a distance of 75 ground level and 3.2 km underground. The project km. The tremendous change that Dubai Metro has comprises seven stations, including an interchange brought about in terms of a mass transit network can station with the Red Line, a station at the Expo be seen in the growing numbers of metro passengers site, three elevated stations and two underground in recent years. The increase in the number of stations, along with the addition of 50 more trains. passengers using the metro was significantly higher
Figure 7.7: Number of Metro passengers and public buses (2010-2017)
38,888 69,007 109,492 137,760 164,307 178,647 191,326 200,753 Metro Passengers
110,393 107,408 107,806 115,676 128,539 128,931 151,069 155,320 Public Buses Passengers
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Source: Dubai Statistics Center
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Taxis
7.5 As part of the diversification programme of 7,942 in 2011 to 8,702 in 2013, to 9,611 in 2015 and
the transport services for residents and to 11,327 in 2017. (Figure 7.8)
visitors, Dubai offers an excellent transport service through a huge fleet of taxis managed and The increase in the number of taxis caters for increas- supervised by RTA. These vehicles are operated by ing demand, as demonstrated by the rise in the number six companies that are licensed to operate taxis: of trips from about 82 million trips in 2010 to about
Dubai Taxi, Arabia Taxi, National Taxi, Cars Taxi, Metro 96 million trips in 2012, to about 108 million trips in
Taxi and City Taxi. The number of taxis in Dubai has 2015 with a slight decline to around 102 million in increased significantly in recent years, rising from 2017. (Figure 7.9)
Figure 7.8: Number of taxis 2010-2017 Figure 7.9: Number of taxi rides 2010-2017
2017 11,327 101,680,328
2016 10,216 101,680,328
2015 9,611 107,822,479
2014 8,762 106,700,287
2013 8,702 81,619,678
2012 8,042 95,525,514
2011 7,942 91,448,170
2010 7,944 81,800,803
Number of Taxis Number of Taxi rides Source: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
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Maritime mass transport
7.6 Dubai offers several maritime mass transport 7.7 As part of the continuous development of systems, including ferries, water buses, the emirate’s transportation system, RTA has
water taxis and Ferry Dubai. These are used adopted the unique design of the Enterprise by citizens, residents and tourists. The number of Command & Control Centre to meet the requirements ferries has increased from 154 in 2013 to 158 in 2015, of hosting Dubai Expo 2020, at an estimated cost of and to 169 in 2017. In line with this, the number of ferry AED 335 million.The Centre is the first of its kind in the passengers increased from about 12.5 million in 2013 Middle East in terms of ability to control and integrate to about 13.6 million in 2015, before falling slightly to all of the different means of transport and connect the
12.9 million passengers in 2017. (Figure 7.10) various control centers to the operational institutions
in the RTA and traffic control systems. The Centre The number of passengers on water buses increased contributes to the enhancement and coordination of significantly over the same period, rising from 85,000 communication with various control centres through in 2013 to more than 572,000 in 2015, an increase the use of smart simulation and forecasting for smart of seven times more, before dropping to 432,000 in mobility services, an improved coordination in crisis 2017, Figure 7.11. Ferry Dubai is one of the outstand- management, for event planning and management, ing services launched by the Dubai RTA, offering an and the organization of mobility during major events hour-long round trip in Dubai that passes by the Atlan- and exhibitions in Dubai. tis, Burj Al Arab and Palm Jumeirah. The RTA has adopted two projects for cycling and
RTA is preparing to build additional 12 maritime running tracks. The first project involves the execution stations in the Business Bay Canal and the Dubai Water of 32 kilometers of cycling and running tracks and the Canal: five stations on the Dubai Water Canal as part construction of three bridges for bicycles and pedes- of the canal construction project and seven stations trians. The project cost is AED 52 million. The second on the Business Bay Canal to be opened by 2018. This project involves the implementation of 25 kilometers will bring the number of stations on Business Bay Canal of cycling and running tracks and the construction of and Dubai Water Canal to 18. The number of users of a bridge for use by bicycles and pedestrians, at a cost the maritime transport sector in Dubai is estimated at of AED 27 million. 13 million passengers annually.
Water Taxi at the Dubai Festival City.
129 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7
Figure 7.10: Number of ferry passengers (in million)
14.0
13.6
13.5
13.1
13.0 12.9
12.6 12.5 12.5 12.5
12.0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Figure 7.11: Number of water bus passengers
700,000
572,202 600,000 533,413 527,025
500,000 431,891
400,000 347,530
300,000
200,000
100,000 84,720
0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
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Air transport 7.8 The air transport sector is one of the most It is unsurprising that the UAE topped the GCC coun-
important success stories in the Emirate of tries in terms of the number of flights of registered
Dubai. The sector’s progress began in the airlines worldwide, reaching about 459,000 flights in mid-1980s and continues to this day constituting one 2017, down slightly from 464,000 the year before. of the cornerstones of the emirate’s economy. It is The UAE was followed by Saudi Arabia with 271,000 supervised by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. flights and by Qatar in third place with 194,000 flights. In rank order Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait generated
The exceptional growth of the air transport sector 167,000 flights between them. The order of the top over the past two decades has been due to several three countries remained the same over the last three factors, including most prominently the air transport years. (Figure 7.12) infrastructure, represented by Dubai Airports and Emirates Airlines, which have been the driving force In parallel, the number of air passengers in the UAE of this sector. has increased from about 84 million in 2015 to about 92 million in 2016 and to about 95 million in 2017. As
7.9 Dubai is home to two of the world’s best in the case of the number of registered flights, the
airports in terms of efficiency and quality of UAE ranks first in terms of number of passengers in service:Dubai International Airport and Al the GCC region, followed by Saudi Arabia and then
Maktoum International Airport. Their operations are Qatar. (Figure 7.13) managed by the Dubai Airports Company, which was established in 2007.
The Al Maktoum International Airport project is part of Dubai World Central, one of Dubai’s largest air transport projects, and includes the construction of the world’s first fully integrated airport city.
131 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7
Figure 7.12: Number of registered flights Figure 7.13: Number of flights worldwide passengers*
2017 458,672 95,306,296
UAE 2016 463,947 91,763,598
2015 437,638 84,343,562
2017 270,924 37,503,000
Saudi 2016 256,635 35,092,840 Arabia 2015 236,468 33,431,736
2017 194,389 29,949,181
Qatar 2016 200,927 31,209,097
2015 170,582 25,263,224
2017 70,436 9,065,019
Oman 2016 61,956 7,709,851
2015 56,544 6,365,784
2017 54,474 5,190,484
Bahrain 2016 55,592 5,220,218
2015 57,444 5,313,756
2017 41,736 5,586,034
Kuwait 2016 33,387 4,069,935
2015 30,073 3,752,995
Source:
World Bank: World Development Indicators 2018 *Note: fig (7.13) includes the number of air passen- gers includes both those traveling on domestic and international flights, which are served by the UAE Registered flights worldwide Passenger flights registered airlines.
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Data shows that Dubai receives the largest share of The number of passengers at Al Maktoum International
passengers in the UAE. Dubai International Airport Airport has increased from about 433,000 passengers
received more than 88 million passengers in 2017, in 2015 to about 851,000 passengers in 2016, and then
compared to 84 million passengers in 2016 and 78 to about 905,000 passengers in 2017. (Figure 7.15)
million passengers in 2015. (Figure 7.14) 7.11 Developments in Dubai’s air transport sector 7.10 The Al Maktoum International Airport project are linked closely with the leading position of is part of Dubai World Central, which is one of the Emirates Group, which is one of the fast- Dubai’s largest air transport projects, at a est growing airlines in the world and operates a
cost of AED 120 billion. It includes the construction of network to more than 150 destinations. Emirates
the world’s first fully integrated airport city. The project Group includes a number of companies with different includes six specialized areas: Al Maktoum Internation- activities related to air transport services, including
al Airport, which will be the world’s largest airport; Dubai most notably Emirates Airlines, Dnata, Emirates Holi- Logistics City: a residential city, a commercial city, a days, Marhaba, Emirates Air Cargo, Emirates Private golf city and an aviation city. The total cost of the proj- Aviation, Emirates Academy for Pilot Training and
ect is AED 120 billion which is being executed in phases. Emirates Catering. The cargo terminal was opened in June 2010 and the
passenger terminal was opened in October 2013.
Figure 7.14: Number of Dubai International Airport passengers 2010-2017 (in million)
100.0 88.2 83.7 78.0 70.5 80.0 66.5 57.7 50.9 60.0 47.2
40.0
20.0
0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Figure 7.15: Number of Al Maktoum International Airport passengers 2014-2017
904,940 1,000,000 844,576 850,633
800,00
600,000 432,876
400,000
200,000
0 2014 2015 2016 2017 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
133 Dubai Economic Report 2018 Dubai DED DubaiDED Dubai DED Transport, Storage, Communications and Information Technology | CHAPTER 7
Dubai International Airport.
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ICT sector
7.12 The ICT sector has witnessed continuous The ICT sector is attractive to foreign direct invest- growth in recent years, with the number of ment (FDI) which has doubled over the last decade
people working in the sector increasing from (2007-2016), rising from US$2,555 million in 2007 about 25,000 in 2011 to about 29,000 in 2013, to to US$3,098 million in 2009, to US$5,496 million in
32,000 in 2015 and to more than 33,000 by 2016. 2014, and finally reaching USD$6,017 million by
(Figure 7.16) 2016. (Figure 7.17)
Figure 7.16: Number of workers in the Telecommunications Sector 33,232 32,341 30,155 28,617 27,254 27,572
24,868 24,477 24,283 24,615 22,481
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Figure 7.17: Total value of FDI in the telecommunications sector (US$ million) 6,017
5,496 5,573 5,317 5,066 4,805
3,447 3,098
2,555 2,648
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: Dubai Statistics Center
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7.13 According to the Global Competitiveness measures the ability of a particular economy to use ICT
Report (2017-2018) issued by the World to increase competition and enhance development. Economic Forum, the UAE ranks first global- The UAE was ranked 26th among all 139 countries on ly in terms of government procurement of high tech- this index. (Figure 7.18) th nology products”, 13 globally and the first among Arab countries in terms of the availability of the latest According to the ICT Development Index, which technology, and 15th globally and the first in the Arab measures the level of ICT development, the UAE world in terms of innovation capacity. ranked 40th globally and third in the GCC region in
2017. (Figure 7.19)
The United Arab Emirates ranked first among Arab countries on the network readiness Index, which
Figure 7.18: International ranking of GCC countries according to the Network Readiness Index
Ranking
10
20 26 27 28 30 33
40
52 50 61 60
70
80 UAE Qatar Bahrain KSA Oman Kuwait
Source: Global Competitiveness Report - World Economic Forum, Network Readiness Index
Figure 7.19: International ranking of the GCC countries according to the ICT Development Index
Ranking
10
20
30 31
40 39 40
50 54
60 62
70 71
80 UAE Qatar Bahrain KSA Oman Kuwait Source: ITU - ICT Development Index
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7.14 According to the Dubai Statistics Center, the 100 inhabitants in 2017, the United Arab Emirates st number of fixed lines in Dubai has grown ranked 41 globally and first among the GCC coun- strongly over the last four years, rising from tries. (Figure 7.21) about 1.304 million in 2014 to about 1.349 million in
2015 and then to 1.414 in 2017. The available data also Regarding the penetration of mobile phone usage the indicates that the number of active mobile lines was World Bank’s Mobile Phone Index for every 100 inhab- about 5.8 million in 2017. (Figure 7.20) itants in 2017 showed that the United Arab Emirates was third in the world and second among the GCC
In terms of the density of lines according to the region, Figures (7.22) World Bank’s Fixed Line Index for lines for every
Technology exhibition in Dubai.
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Figure 7.20: Telephone lines in Dubai
6,430,336 6,348,125 5,696,569 5,878,057
1,304,427 1,349,101 1,382,968 1,413,717
2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of active mobile lines Number of fixed telephone lines Source: Dubai Statistic Center
Figure 7.21: Fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants
23.4
20.8 19.3
12 11 9.8
Ranking 41 48 54 76 80 82 UAE Bahrain Qatar KSA Kuwait Oman
Source: World Bank: Information Technology Statistics
Figure 7.22: Mobile lines per 100 inhabitants
216.9 204
159.2 157.6 147.1 146.6
Ranking 2 3 13 15 22 24 Bahrain UAE Oman KSA Qatar Kuwait Source: World Bank: Information Technology Statistics
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7.15 The number of broadband lines has also In terms of the percentage of Internet users, the United th grown significantly in recent years in terms Arab Emirates ranks 11 in the world and third among
of number of individual and business users. the GCC in 2017, but it ranked first in the region in
Installations rose from about 412,000 in 2012 to about terms of a data size index converted in kilobytes / sec
493,000 in 2014, and then jumping to more than per Internet users. (Figures 7.24 and 7.25)
623,000 in 2016, to finally reach about 657,000 in 2017.
Figure (7.23)
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Figure 7.23: Broadband lines in Dubai
Total 421,161 458,839 492,965 607,219 623,379 657,379
533,650 473,956 494,950
421,039 391,276 358,975
133,263 128,429 123,729 62,186 67,563 71,926
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Business Residential Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (DU & ETISALAT)
Figure 7.24: Percentage of Internet users
98 94.3 90.6
78.4 73.8 69.8
Ranking 2 7 11 33 45 53 Bahrain Qatar UAE Kuwait KSA Oman
Source: World Bank: Information Technology Statistics
Figure 7.25: Size of converted data in kilobytes / sec per Internet users
Oman 66.2
Kuwait 69.5
KSA 78.2
Qatar 86.9
Bahrain 112.8
UAE 133.7
Source: World Bank: Information Technology Statistics
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