Today we launched Digital 2023: Saudi Arabia and Digital 2023: The UAE, part of our series of annual global digital reports. They are comprehensive reports covering digital, social and mobile use in the region.

A recap of key insights from Digital 2023: UAE and Digital 2023: KSA include: 

  1. Social media users now sit at 29.1M for KSA encompassing 79% of the population, with males accounting for 63% vs females at 37%. In UAE they make up an audience of 10M representing 105% of the population. 
  2. Internet connection spends are getting faster than ever with an average mobile connection speeds exceeding 139MBPs in UAE representing an 80% increase on last year and 90MBPs in KSA – a 9.6% increase 
  3. Video continues to dominate as a format, with live streaming again driving the largest increase of 30% in consumption in UAE 28.6% in KSA
  4. Users from both UAE & KSA continue to operate fluidly across platforms, with the average number of social platforms being used by internet users aged 16-64 in KSA at 7.9 and UAE at 8.2.
  5. Gaming continues to be a huge area of interest: In the KSA: 90.1% of internet users aged between 16-64 play video games on any device – with VR gaming growing by 13.7% and console ownership increasing by 19.7%. Time spent using a gaming console in the KSA has increased by 4.4% equating to 1 hour 58 minutes a day on average.
  6. Snapchat leapfrogs Twitter and TikTok in KSA as the third most used platform, behind Instagram and WhatsApp, with an 68.9% penetration rate.

Although social media users have plateaued in KSA (29.1M vs 29.3M in 2022), digital consumption remains skyhigh, with social media usage topping 3 hours a day and the average person now consuming content from 7.9 platforms a month ( 8.2 in UAE).

Time spent on social platforms dipped slightly in UAE, with the daily average for 2022 standing at 3 hours and 4 minutes, compared with 2 hours and 50 minutes this year. However, UAE still supports 10M active social media users and 19.05M cell phone users, in a country where the population is 9.48 million… work that one out. In comparison, the KSA is home to a much more hefty 29.10M social media fanbase, representing 80.1% of the population. 

What is most pertinent in both regions, is the staggering number of internet users and in the UAE that figure actually exceeds the population – owing to multiple device ownership (and fake accounts). One thing that is clear, is that connections are now faster than ever, with speeds exceeding 139MBPs in UAE and 90MBPs in KSA and both figures are for mobile device connection speeds, with even faster landline speeds.

As we jump straight into channel consumption, one of the biggest shocks comes from KSA, as Snapchat leapfrogs Twitter and TikTok as the third most used platform, behind Instagram and WhatsApp, with an 68.9% penetration rate. 

Interestingly, in the KSA, Facebook rose by 1 place and now sits at number 6 of the top 10 social platforms in the country with a 66% penetration rate. Yet, when it comes to  ‘favorite social media platform’ which is defined by users’ opinions of the platform, it sits even higher at number 2 only behind WhatsApp. A couple of reasons for this renaissance of relevancy lies in the fact that Facebook is widely used as a tool for networking and connecting with friends and family, ranking as the top reason for using social media in both regions.

When it comes to consuming content, video is still king, with 94% and 97% of internet users between 16-64 in KSA and UAE respectively consuming video content each week. In terms of video formats, live streaming drove a 30% increase in consumption in UAE (28.6% in KSA). New ways of accessing information are also emerging, with voice assistants and commands increasing by 42.8% in the UAE. 

Hopping back into social media, we’ve seen continued momentum from TikTok, which remains more popular with KSA internet users than Facebook. However, it’s YouTube that takes the crown from TikTok for having the greatest potential audience reach in KSA, with 79.3% of the audience available to advertisers via the medium vs 71.9% with TikTok. 

As mentioned, Snapchat is now emerging as one of the most important platforms for advertisers in KSA, with a potential reach of 21.15M users, eclipsed only by TikTok with 26.39M. TikTok also boosted its reach in KSA by 72% from 2022, representing an additional 12M female users to the platform and 4M males. Instagram continues to struggle in KSA, with just 34% of the population available to reach on the platform and a 19.4% dip in ad reach.

In the UAE, it’s a similar pattern when it comes to audience reach, with YouTube sitting at the top with 94.8% of the population available to reach. 

In both markets, a high percentage of internet users are turning to social media to find product inspiration, with influencers and creators representing an ever larger % of ad budgets – increasing by 7.2% in UAE.

  • ⚡️?Remember dial up internet connection? Neither do we. Internet connection spends are now getting faster than ever with an average mobile connection speeds exceeding 139MBPs in UAE and 90MBPs in KSA 80% increase on last year.

? For more data like this, check out our Digital 2023 report now. Your comprehensive guide to digital, social media, mobile, and e-commerce trends globally. Link in bio.

#KSA #UAE #Digital2023 #GlobalDigitalReport #Mobile #Onlinetime #mobiledata #data #digital #GDR2023 #mobile #ecommerce #internetuse #WeAreSocial

  • ?? Gaming levels up again: In the KSA: 90.1% of internet users aged between 16-64 play video games on any device – with VR gaming growing fastest by 13.7% and console ownership increasing by 19.7%. Time spent using a gaming console in the KSA has increased by 4.4% equating to 1 hour 58 minutes a day on average.

? For more data like this, check out our Digital 2023 report now. Your comprehensive guide to digital, social media, mobile, and e-commerce trends globally. Link in bio.

#KSA #UAE #Digital2023 #GlobalDigitalReport #Mobile #Onlinetime #mobiledata #data #digital #GDR2023 #mobile #ecommerce #internetuse #WeAreSocial

  • ?⬆️ Snapchat leapfrogs Twitter and TikTok in KSA as the third most used platform, behind Instagram and WhatsApp, with an 68.9% penetration rate.? For more data like this, check out our Digital 2023 report now. Your comprehensive guide to digital, social media, mobile, and e-commerce trends globally. Link in bio.

#KSA #UAE #Digital2023 #GlobalDigitalReport #Mobile #Onlinetime #mobiledata #data #digital #GDR2023 #mobile #ecommerce #internetuse #WeAreSocial

LinkedIn

It’s that time again! ? Social media has more power and purpose than ever before. Our 2023 report shows that in the UAE there are more social media users than people!

Some more juicy stats:

? Social media users now sit at 29.1M for KSA encompassing 79% of the population, with males accounting for 63% vs females at 37%. In UAE they make up an audience of 10M representing 105% of the population. 

⚡️? Internet connection spends are getting faster than ever with an average mobile connection speeds exceeding 139MBPs in UAE and 90MBPs in KSA 80% increase on last year.

?Video continues to dominate as a format, with live streaming again driving the largest increase of 30% in consumption in UAE 28.6% in KSA

????Users from both UAE & KSA continue to operate fluidly across platforms, with the average number of social platforms being used by internet users aged 16-64 in KSA at 7.9 and UAE at 8.2.

?? Gaming continues to be a huge area of interest: In the KSA: 90.1% of internet users aged between 16-64 play video games on any device – with VR gaming growing by 13.7% and console ownership increasing by 19.7%. Time spent using a gaming console in the KSA has increased by 4.4% equating to 1 hour 58 minutes a day on average.

?⬆️ Snapchat leapfrogs Twitter and TikTok in KSA as the third most used platform, behind Instagram and WhatsApp, with an 68.9% penetration rate.

Delve into more delicious data in Digital 2023, your comprehensive guide to digital, social media, mobile and ecommerce trends globally. Link in bio.

#KSA #UAE #Digital2023 #GlobalDigitalReport #GDR2023 #WeAreSocial

To get in touch with Socialize to discuss your digital marketing approach, email us at hello@socialize.ae