Social media in the middle east

Vol. 2, No. 1 July 2012

The Arab Social Media Report series aims Social Media in the Arab
World: Influencing Societal
to inform a better understanding of the
impact of social media on development and
growth in the Arab region by exploring the
following questions: and Cultural Change?
• What are the penetration trends of
social networking services in the Arab Overview
region? The passionate debate on the impact of social media in the Arab world
• What is the growth rate, and what is the has continued throughout 2011 and 2012. However, it has largely moved
demographic and gender breakdown? beyond the classical polarized perception of the rigid paradigms of
technologically deterministic’ views and the overly-romanticized ‘people
• What factors affect the adoption of these
power’ ones. The healthy debate that has dominated policy discourses for
platforms in different Arab countries
more than a year has finally shifted the question of the societal impact
(e.g., income, youth population, digital of social media usage from the “if” to the “how”, “why” and “what next”.
access, Internet freedom, etc.)? Throughout the past two years, the Arab Social Media Report series has
• What is the impact of these phenomena been a key contributor to this global debate, providing the only regional
on citizen engagement and social source of quantitative research on the growth and usage trends of social
inclusion? media in the Arab region, coupled with exploratory qualitative surveys that
dig deeper into regional perceptions regarding the impact of social media
• What is the impact of the new social
in Arab societies. The findings of the report series covered topics varying
dynamics influenced by social media from the impact of social media on freedom of expression and media
on innovation and entrepreneurship in consumption behaviors, to its empowerment of youth and women, and
Arab societies? its role in popular civic movements. In this fourth issue of the report, we
Ultimately, we hope that the report findings focus on exploring the societal and cultural transformations taking place in
shed light on the role social media is playing the Arab region, influenced by the continuing exponential growth of social
in the societal transformations taking place media. In this edition of the report we provide regional statistics on more
in the Arab world. social networking platforms, in addition to Facebook and Twitter; including
for the first time, analysis on LinkedIn. The findings of the regional survey
provided here aims to measure emerging perceptions of social media users
in the Arab World on identity and culture, a topic that is closely linked with
For additional datasets and charts
unpublished in this report, join the several critical policy questions in the region, and begs for more research on
ASMR community and register (at no a regional and individual society levels.
cost) online at:
www.ArabSocialMediaReport.com 1. Introduction
Non-registered members can The ongoing popular political and civic movements in the Arab world
download this report, and follow have empowered large segments of the region’s population. Policy making
ASMR social networking groups circles continue to debate the impact of social media at the Arab regional as
through the website.
well as global levels. The continued strong growth, popularity and diversity
For questions or media enquiries of social media usage across the region throughout the first half of 2012
please direct emails to the authors at:
–well beyond the height of the ‘Arab spring’- indicates that the popular
socialmedia@dsg.ac.ae movements sweeping the region were not the only contributing factor
to this growth, and that a more organic growth is taking place, impacting
Arabs connections with their society and community.

Specifically, where we once witnessed a shift in the type of social media usage across the region from social to political usage,
we now see a wider scope of uses for social media in the region, ranging from civic engagement and political participation to
business entrepreneurial efforts, and social change. With a critical mass of Arab users in many countries, governments in the region
have also begun to recognize -and accept- social media’s potential. Several governments in the region are viewing this as an
opportunity contributing to development a more transparent, participatory and inclusive governance models. From merely being
used as a tool for social networking and entertainment, social media now infiltrates almost every aspect of the daily lives of millions
of Arabs, affecting the way they interact socially, do business, deal with government, or engage in civil society movements.
Previous issues of the Arab Social Media Report have explored the growth of social media in the region, and the change in
the nature of social media usage, all of which has been partly fueled by the use of networks such as Facebook, YouTube
and Twitter in the movements of the so-called “Arab spring.” The fourth edition of the report builds on these timely themes,
which specifically explored the exponential growth of social media use in the Arab world; the role of social networking
tools in the civil movements in the Arab region; and the potential of social media to empower Arab women. It goes beyond
this framework of the ‘Arab spring’ that dominated the discourse over the past year, to explore perceptions on whether the
political empowerment experienced and witnessed by so many through the innovative uses of social media can transcend
these specific events and be utilized in a broader context of social change within one’s society, culture and community.
Produced by the Dubai School of Government’s Governance and Innovation Program, the Arab Social Media Report series
continues to analyze usage trends of online social networking tools across the Arab region. Based on data collected in the
first half of 2012, this edition of the report analyzes data on Twitter and Facebook users in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to
Iran, Israel and Turkey. It also introduces, for the first time, statistics on LinkedIn users in the region. Additionally, in another first-
of-its-kind regional survey, this special edition of the report explores the impact of social media culture, society and identity.

Growth of Social Media Usage in 2012
The Arab Social Media Report series is part of a larger research initiative by the Governance and Innovation Program focusing
on social engagement through ICT for better policy in Arab states, which explores the use of social networking services
in governance, social inclusion and economic development. The initiative also studies the potential of social networking
applications for increasing collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation, both between and among government
entities, citizens and the private sector.
The growth of social media throughout 2012 has not shown signs of slowing down, either on a global level or within the
Arab region. Globally, Facebook still dominates, with over 901 million ‘monthly active’ users worldwide - by the end of
March 2012 - of which 500 million access the Facebook platform through their mobiles. Additionally, 500 million Facebook
users log in daily and 80 percent of users are located outside North America1.
Twitter, on the other hand, reached the 500 million mark in February 20122, of which 140 million are ‘active’ users, generating
340 million tweets a day. About 60% of the active users produce tweets, while the remaining 40% log in just to get news and
information. Much like Facebook, 70% of Twitter users reside outside the USA and 57% of users utilize their mobile devices
and smartphones to access Twitter. Arabic language is the fastest growing language ever on Twitter, among 25 other different
languages used on the site. To accommodate this growth, Twitter recently introduced an Arabic language interface.
As of March 2012, LinkedIn provides the world’s largest professional social network on the Internet with 161 million
members in over 200 countries and territories, of which 61% percent are located outside of the USA. LinkedIn members
did nearly 4.2 billion professionally oriented searches on the platform in 2011. LinkedIn is currently available in seventeen
languages not including Arabic. Students and recent college graduates are the fastest growing demographic on LinkedIn.
Additionally, more than 60,000 developers are using its APIs to create tools and services3
Other social media sites are also exhibiting substantial growth on a global scale. As of June 2012, Google+, for example
has over 170 million users, and shares over a billion items a day.. Similarity, YouTube has over 800 million unique user visits
a month; these result in 60 hours of uploaded video every minute. The video sharing platform is available in 60 languages
and 42 countries, and has over four billion views per day (up 50% from last year)4

1
Source: Facebook - http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22
2
Source: Twitter - http://blog.twitter.com/
3
Source: LinkedIn - http://press.linkedin.com/about
4
Source: Google

2 Arab Social Media Report Vol. 2, No. 1

2. Social Media in the Arab Region – Towards Social and Societal Change
Throughout the Arab Social Media Report series, social media usage trends have been explored and analyzed, chronicling
both an exponential growth in the number of social media users in the region, and a marked shift away from the typical
social and entertainment uses of social media towards those that are more political and civic5. The Arab spring and related
civic movements have contributed significantly to this change, although, as evidenced by further research into the impact
of social media in the region beyond the ‘peak’ of these events6, the ongoing growth and changes have transcended the
political events of last year. The number of social media users in the region continues to grow fast, and their usage of
social media, influenced by the sense of empowerment and their ability to create change within their countries, has gone
on to encompass efforts to address societal issues and influence social change and cultural attitudes at the society and
community level among a large part of Arab societies.
To explore this continuing evolvement of social media usage in the region, a regional online survey was administered in 8
Arab countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE)7, examining the usage of social
media and, specifically, perceptions about its impact on culture and society in the region. The target demographic for the
survey mirrored the demographic makeup of each country. Consequently, the typical respondent profile was a young
professional (70% of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 30), primarily in the private sector, although the public
sector, the third sector and enterprise owners were also represented, along with university students and the unemployed.
The gender spilt was approximately 50/50. The survey was conducted between March and May 2012 and received 4754
responses, with an average response rate of 86.4%.
Several survey questions explored the bridge between the growth of social media and the resulting influence this growth
has had on users’ views of - and interactions with - their communities and societies. Figure 1 below illustrates how social
media users in these eight Arab countries felt empowered by their use of social media to influence change in their
communities. Interestingly, this feeling of empowerment was strongly evident even in countries where social media was
not directly linked to popular or political movements, such as in Kuwait and Lebanon, indicating that such movements
were not the only contributing factor to people’s evolving use of social media, but rather that an organic societal change
was taking place among social media users. That said, it could be argued that the largely free flow of information online
and the cross-border interconnectivity and influence of social media users in the Arab region have contributed to this
regional sense of empowerment within a large part of the society.

Figure 1: “Social media played a role in empowering me to influence change in my community/
country (% of respondents)”

70

60
51
50 46 46 46
42 43

40
33
32
30

20

10

0
Saudi UAE Jordan Bahrain Lebanon Egypt Oman Kuwait
Arabia

5
Arab Social Media Report, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 2011, Governance and Innovation Program, Dubai School of Government – www.ArabSocialMediaReport.com
6
The impact of social media on empowering Arab women, for example, as explored in the third issue of the Arab Social Media Report
7
The survey questions presented here represent a small part of a larger survey conducted by the Governance and Innovation Program in collaboration with
SAP Middle East & North Africa. The full survey results will be published in 2012 in a special report on social media, unemployment and entrepreneurship
in the Arab region.

Social Media in the Arab World: Influencing Societal and Cultural Change? 3

Additionally, social media did not just empower people to create social change, but, according to respondents, it created a
shift in their attitudes, making them more open and tolerant of other people’s points of view. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2: “I am more open to tolerating different points of view (% of respondents)”

70
65
58 58 59
60
52
47 47 49
50

40

30

20

10

0
Saudi UAE Lebanon Kuwait Oman Egypt Jordan Bahrain
Arabia

Honing in on three of the countries with the largest social media users, both in terms of penetration and numbers, (Egypt,
Saudi Arabia and the UAE), we notice that respondents in all three strongly concur that their connection with, understanding
of, and contribution to their societies and fellow citizens has been facilitated and enhanced through the use of social media
tools. (Figure 3). Egypt had the highest percentage of agreement across all three statements, followed by Saudi Arabia and
the UAE indicating a possible correlation between political uses of social media during the popular movements and the
impact of social media on one’s view of society.

Figure 3: “To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the impact of social
media on your view of society (% agree)”

100 92
85 83 85 84
79 76 75
80 71

60

40

20

0
I feel more connected to my I feel I understand my society better I feel my contribution to my
community and society through after interacting with fellow citizens society has increased through
social networking tools through social networking tools using social networking tools

Egypt Saudi Arabia UAE

Delving further beyond impact of social media on culture and society, the survey also aimed to gauge the effect of social
media use on one’s identity. On average, across all eight countries surveyed, social media enforced different aspects of
respondents’ identities in the following descending ranking: National identity, global identity, regional identity and religious
identity. Figure 4 highlights the breakdown of these different ranking between countries.


Figure 4: Using social media enforced my sense of identity (National, Global Citizen, Regional, Religious)

National
Using social media enforced my national identity: I feel I have stronger social links with my
fellow citizens
90 85
83
78 78 80 80
80
73
70 66

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Lebanon UAE Saudi Arabia Oman Kuwait Jordan Bahrain Egypt

Global Citizen

I feel I’m more of a “global citizen” today (after interacting with people from around the
globe using social media)
82
80
80 79
78
78 77 77 77

76

74
72
72

70 69

68

66

64
UAE Saudi Arabia Kuwait Oman Bahrain Lebanon Egypt Jordan

Regional

Using social media enforced my regional identity (pan-Arab, Khaleeji, etc.): I feel more
connected to people in my wider region
90
78 80
80 75 75 76 77

70 66
60
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Lebanon UAE Saudi Arabia Bahrain Oman Kuwait Egypt Jordan


Religious

Using social media enforced my religious identity: I feel I have stronger social links with
people from same religious background
90

80 75 76
73 74
71
70 67
59
60

50
41
40

30

20

10

0
Lebanon UAE Oman Saudi Arabia Bahrain Egypt Kuwait Jordan

Many claim that social media usage and, by association, its ability to expose
people to a variety of ideas and opinions, has led them to become more open
and tolerant of these views

2.1 Social Media, a Year after the Uprisings: Key Findings and Conclusions
• While social media usage has been influenced by the political events of the past year, its exponential growth and shift in
the type of usage has not been solely due to these local events and has endured beyond them. This year has seen both a
continued growth in numbers of social media users in the Arab region, and an evolution in types of usage that has built
on the political empowerment brought about by social media in several Arab countries – and witnessed by others - and
has grown beyond that to influence shifts in perception regarding culture, identity and the ability to impact social change.
• Impact on society: People’s use of social media, emboldened by the political change it helped bring about throughout
2011, has become more widespread and influential on societies and communities in the Arab region. Social media
users generally hold positive views on its impact on, and potential for creating social change. Ultimately, social media
is being seen and used as an agent of change.
• Impact on cultural attitudes: On an even more personal level, social media usage is not just perceived to bring about
change within communities, but within people themselves. Many claim that social media usage and, by association, its
ability to expose people to a variety of ideas and opinions, has led them to become more open and tolerant of these views.
• Impact on identity: Social media’s ability to connect people, their opinions and experiences across the globe has not only
influenced a change in social media users’ attitudes towards others, but has also reinforced their sense of identity within this
new networked virtual community. Although the top ranking aspect or ‘type’ of identity reinforced by social media was the
‘national’ one, feeling like a ‘global citizen’ was a close second, and religious identity the lowest ranking, suggesting that social
media may –for now- have the ability to influence a more globalized society while de-emphasizing religious differences.

3. Mapping Facebook in the Arab World – Q1 and Q2 2012
This edition of the Arab Social Media Report continues to explore social media usage in the Arab region, focusing on both
Facebook and Twitter, in addition to the introduction of LinkedIn usage in the region for the first time. This section, specifically,
provides an update on Facebook usage during the first and second quarter of 2012, building on Issue III of the report, which
provided an overview of Facebook users in the second and third quarter of last year. As such, the number of Facebook users
in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey, was collected periodically between January and June 2012, in
the following age brackets — youth (15-29), and adults (30 and over) — as well as by gender. The key findings follow:


Penetration and uptake

Facebook in the Arab World: A Snapshot
• The total number of Facebook users in the Arab world stands at 45,194,452 (as of end June, 2012), up from
37,390,837 at the beginning of the year (January 3, 2012), having increased by about 50% since the
same time last year (29,845,871 in end June 2011).
• By the end of June 2012, the country average for Facebook user penetration in the Arab region was just over
12%, up from 10% at the beginning of the year, and up from 8% in June 2011.
• The number of Facebook users in the Arab world has approximately tripled in the last 2 years (June 2010
– June 2012), increasing from 16 million users to 45 million users. Figures (5, 6 & 7) illustrate the growth in
all 22 Arab countries in the past 2 years.
• The percentage of female users remains almost static, having fluctuated slightly between 33.5% and 34%
in the past year (33.7% as of June 2012). This is still significantly lower than the global trend, where women
constitute roughly half of Facebook users.
• Youth (between the ages of 15 and 29) continue to make up around 70% of Facebook users in the Arab
region, a number that has been holding steady since April 2011.
• GCC countries dominate the top five Arab Facebook users as percentage of population. The UAE remains at
the top of the Arab region, followed by Kuwait, while Qatar has found its way back into the top five. Lebanon
and Jordan take up the remaining spots.
• Egypt still constitutes about a quarter of total Facebook users in the Arab region, and has added more users in
the past year than any Arab country, at over 1.6 million new Facebook users between January and June 2012.
• English, Arabic and French are the dominant languages on Facebook, and Arabic is now the fastest growing
language on Facebook in the region, with an increase in the number of Facebook users who predominantly
use the Arabic interface.

Figure 5: Number of Facebook Users in the Arab Region between June 2010 and June 2012 (Top 10
Facebook populations)

12
Millions

ASMR IV
11 Egypt

10 Remaining
ASMR III
9 Saudi Arabia

8 Morocco
ASMR II
7 Algeria

6
UAE
5
Syria
ASMR I
4
Tunisia
3
Jordan
2
Iraq
1
Sudan
0
June ’10 January ’11 April ’11 June ’11 October ’11 January ’12 June ’12


Figure 6: Number of Remaining Facebook Users in the Arab Region between June 2010 and June
2012 (excluding Top 10 Facebook populations)

1500
Thousands

ASMR IV
1400 Lebanon
ASMR III
1300 Kuwait
1200 ASMR II
Palestine
1100 ASMR I
Qatar
1000
900 Yemen

800 Libya
700
Oman
600
500 Bahrain

400 Somalia
300
Mauritania
200
Djibouti
100
0 Comoros

Figure 7: Number of Facebook Users in the GCC Countries between June 2010 and June 2012

6
Millions

ASMR IV
5.5
Saudi Arabia
5
ASMR III
UAE
4.5 ASMR II
Kuwait
5
ASMR I Qatar
3.5

3 Oman

2.5 Bahrain

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

When comparing the uptake of Facebook in Arab countries with that in some of the top ten countries8 (in terms of Facebook
penetration worldwide), several Arab countries still outpace the top 10 countries in terms of new users acquired between
January and June 2012, as percentage of population. For example, at the end of June 2012, fourteen Arab countries had
acquired more Facebook users (as a percentage of population) than Canada, one of the highest-ranking countries in the
world in terms of Facebook penetration (see Figure 8). Additionally, for the first time, Turkey ranks the lowest in the region
in terms of the number of new Facebook users acquired in the first half of 2012; Turkey has in fact lost some of its Facebook
users, as it is possibly reaching a saturation point. (see Figure 9 ).

8
Iceland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chile, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Australia, UK, US


Figure 8: New Facebook Users in the Arab Region and Globally (Jan. 3 – June 25, 2012), as
Percentage of Population*

14.00 12.6

12.00

10.00

6.5 6.5
8.00

6.00
4.2 4.4 4.6
3.4 3.4 3.9
4.00
2.4 2.6
1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9
2.00 1.1 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6

0.00
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*2012 populations, from United Nations ILO Department of Statistics, http://laborsta.ilo.org/,

Figure 9: Number of New Facebook Users in the Arab Region, plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(Jan. 3 – June 25, 2012)

Egypt 1,608,420
Syria 1,376,112
KSA 971,900
Algeria 629,960
Morocco 590,360
UAE 523,600
Sudan 437,263
Iraq 382,140
Qatar 244,840
Yemen 236,400
Jordan 217,500
Palestine 195,400
Tunisia 187,440
Iran 167,755
Libya 154,000
Oman 120,840
Israel 119,240
Kuwait 111,480
Lebanon 36,580
Bahrain 36,000
Somalia 32,700
Mauritania 3,260
Comoros 480
Djibouti -3,100
Turkey -174,980

-400,000 -200,000 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,600,000 1,800,000


On a regional level9, the Arab countries can be divided into three groups according to their Facebook penetration rates
(Figure 10):

Figure 10: Facebook User Penetration in the Arab Region, plus Iran, Israel and Turkey (June 2012)10

50.00
45.3
45.00
40.6 41.3
40.00
34.3
35.00 32.7 34.1
29.3
30.00 27.9
25.9
25.00
19.2 21.2
20.00
15.3 16.6
15.00 13.1 13.4

10.00 9.5
4.9 5.0
5.00 2.4 3.1 3.7
1.9 2.2
0.7 0.9
0.00
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1. High Penetration: These countries’ Facebook user penetration rates indicate persistent growth and a pervasive use of
Facebook in their societies. (Facebook penetration between 30% and above)
2. Emerging countries: These countries’ Facebook user penetration ranges from 10%-30%, indicating a medium
penetration of Facebook users.
3. Developing users: These countries have low rates of Facebook user penetration, ranging from less than 1% to just
under 10%, indicating room for growth.
The rankings show the continued dominance of the GCC countries in the top three spots, with Qatar being reintroduced
–slightly edging out Tunisia - after displaying the highest growth in number of new users in the region within the past six
months. The UAE continues to top the region in terms of Facebook penetration, just passing the 40% mark, and rivaling
Turkey, one of the top ranking countries in the Middle East. Figure 11 highlights the numbers of Facebook users and their
penetration as percentage of total Facebook users in the Arab world.

9
Turkey, Iran and Israel are also included for comparative purposes in this report, as Middle Eastern countries that share certain socio-economic and
geopolitical characteristics with many Arab countries.
10
2011 populations, from United Nations ILO Department of Statistics, http://laborsta.ilo.org/


Saudi Arabia and the UAE make up 80% of Facebook users in the Gulf region

Figure 11: Number of Facebook Users and Percentage of Users in the Arab Region (June 2012)

6,040,140
13%

10,732,360 1,440,740

25% 3% Egypt
1,631,360
Saudi Arabia
4%
Morocco
2,244,300
Algeria
5%
UAE

Syria
2,585,529
Tunisia
6%
5,153,180 Jordan
12%
Iraq
2,932,680
Sudan
7%
Remaining

4,445,340
3,017,120
10%
3,451,300 7%

8%

Looking at the GCC countries specifically, Figure 12 highlights the number and percentage of Facebook users in that region,
indicating that Saudi Arabia and the UAE make up 80% of users in the Gulf region.

Figure 12: Number of Facebook Users and Percentage of Users in the Gulf Region (June 2012)

352,520
992,200
3%
9%

482,680
3,293,660 4%
30% Bahrain
567,680
Kuwait
5%
Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

UAE

5,506,660
49%


Youth (between the ages of 15 and 29) still make up around 70% of Facebook
users in the Arab region, a number that has been holding steady since April 2011

Demographic and gender breakdown of Facebook penetration
Youth (between the ages of 15 and 29) still make up around 70% of Facebook users in the Arab region, a number that
has been holding steady since April 2011. Qatar and Kuwait have slightly edged out the UAE as the most balanced
countries in terms of adult and youthful Facebook users. The GCC countries in general have more “mature” knowledge
societies and are more balanced demographically than the rest of the Arab region, with countries such as Somalia,
Palestine, and Morocco persistently having a predominantly youthful Facebook user population (see Figure 13).

Figure 13: Demographic Breakdown of Facebook Users in the Arab Region* (June 2012)

100%

90% 18 20 20 20 22 25 25 27 27 27 29 33
80% 35 35 36 36 42
46 47 48
70%

60%

50%
82
40% 80 80 80
78 75 75 73 73 73 71 67
30% 65 65 64 64 58 54 53 52
20%

10%

0%
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over 30 FB users (% of total country users 15-29 FB users (% of total country users)

*Excluding Syria and Sudan. Due to US imposed technology sanctions on both countries, no data on demographic breakdown of Facebook users could be obtained.

The gender breakdown of Facebook users shows that the percentage of female users has been fluctuating slightly
since April 2011, at around 33.7%. This is still lower than the global trend, where women constitute roughly half of
Facebook users (see Figure 14).

Figure 14: Gender Breakdown of Facebook Users in Arab Countries* (June 2012)

100%

90% 20
26 26 27 30 30 31 32 33 33 34 35
80% 36 37 39 39 39 42 42 45
70%

60%

50%

40% 80 74 74 73 70 70 69 68 67 67 66 65
30% 64 63 61 61 61 58 58 55

20%

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Female users as percentage of total country users Male users as percentage of total country users

*Excluding Syria and Sudan. Due to US imposed technology sanctions on both countries, no data on demographic breakdown of Facebook users could be obtained.


The percentage of female users has been fluctuating slightly since April 2011, at
around 33.7%. This is still lower than the global trend, where women constitute
roughly half of Facebook users

Lebanon is still the most gender-balanced of the Arab countries, followed closely by Tunisia, Jordan and Palestine, while
at the other end of the spectrum Facebook users in Mauritania, Somalia, Iraq, and Yemen.
Language breakdown of Facebook users
Facebook users across the Arab region also vary in their preference of language interface. Figure 15 highlights the three
main languages used on Facebook in the region (Arabic, English and French) and the percentage of Facebook users that
prefer to use each language interface.

Figure 15: Language Interface Preference for Facebook Users in the Arab World

120.00

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Arabic (% of FB users English (% of FB users French (% of FB users)

Language preferences across the region diverge considerably. Overall, the GCC countries (with the exception of Saudi
Arabia) primarily prefer to use English on Facebook, most likely because of their large English-speaking expatriate
population. North African countries (with the exception of Egypt) prefer to use French.
Interestingly, the percentage of users who prefer the Arabic interface has risen in several countries over the past year,
namely in Egypt, Libya and Iraq (see Figure 16). The change in the latter two countries can be partly attributed in the
past to shifts in the numbers of expatriates and foreign military presence, thereby decreasing the numbers of English–
speaking users this time around. In Egypt, however, this increase points to a wider use of Facebook among the masses,
and not just among the well-educated, English-speaking segment of society.

The percentage of users who prefer the Arabic interface has risen in several
countries over the past year, namely in Egypt, Libya and Iraq, indicating a wider
use of Facebook among the masses, and not just among the well-educated,
English-speaking segment of society


Figure 16: Percentage of Facebook Users who prefer the Arabic User Interface

90
84
80 75 74
70
62
59 58
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Yemen Palestine Libya Iraq Egypt Saudi Arabia

4. Mapping Twitter in the Arab World
The number of active Twitter users globally grew to over 500 million by February 2012, tweeting 2 billion tweets a week.
As officially defined by Twitter, an “active user” is someone who logs in (but does not necessarily tweets) once a month.

Twitter penetration and uptake in the Arab region
The total number of active Twitter users and tweet volume in each of the 22 Arab countries (plus Iran, Israel and Turkey)
over the month of June 2012 was estimated using a Twitter API (application programming interface) specially developed
for this research. The methodology used is detailed in Annex 1. Briefly, it consists of sampling a certain number of Twitter
users in each country captured across the month of March11, and using this sample to extrapolate and estimate the
active Twitter population in June (active in this case being defined as a user who has tweeted at least once a month12).
The volume of tweets and top trends throughout March 2012 were also estimated.

• The estimated number of active Twitter users in the Arab region at the end of June 2012 was 2,099,706.
• The estimated number of tweets generated in the Arab region in March 2012 by “active users” was 172,511,590
tweets. The estimated number of daily tweets is 5,750,386 tweets per day, or 3993 tweets a minute, or
roughly 67 tweets every second.
• The most popular trending hashtags across the Arab region in March 2012 were #bahrain (with 2.8 million
mentions in the tweets generated during this period) followed by ‫( سوريا‬Arabic for Syria) with 1.5 million
mentions, ‫( بحرين‬Arabic for Bahrain) with 1.48 million mentions, #syria (with 1.3. million mentions) and #egypt
(with 900,000 mentions), and #kuwait (with 860,000 mentions)

Turkey dominates in the number of Twitter users, with 589,260 users, followed by the Egypt, which leads the Arab
countries with 129,711 Twitter users (see Figures 17 & 18). The top five Arab countries in terms of number of Twitter
users are Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, UAE and Lebanon. For the first time, a non-GCC country besides Egypt – in
this case, Lebanon- has made its way into the top five, closely ahead of the previous fifth place ranking country, Bahrain.

11
Refer to Annex 2 for March estimates
12
Based on Twitter’s official definition of active users: http://blog.twitter.com/2011/09/one-hundred-million-voices.html


Figure 17: Number of Active Twitter Users in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(Average number for June, 2012) – Countries with over 50K users

Turkey 1,506,473
Saudi Arabia 830,291
Kuwait 370,987
Egypt 296,219
UAE 263,070
Lebanon 77,722
Bahrain 72,468
Qatar 59,835
Jordan 59,726
Israel 54,083

0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,600,000

Figure 18: Number of Active Twitter Users in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(Average number for June, 2012) – Countries with under 50K users

Morocco 38,018
Palestine 33,750
Iran 12,097
Tunisia 12,000
Iraq 11,040
Syria 10,839
Oman 9,832
Algeria 8,415
Yemen 5,907
Sudan 4,507
Libya 4,393
Somalia 1,999
Djibouti 768
Mauritania 528
Comoros 250

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000

When it comes to Twitter penetration as a percentage of population on a regional level, Kuwait stands out with 12.83%
Twitter penetration rate, followed by Bahrain at 5.33%. Contrary to Facebook, the top five countries in terms of Twitter
penetration are all from the GCC, with UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia taking the remaining slots (Figures 19 & 20). Arab
countries can be divided into the following categories:
1. High Penetration: These countries’ Twitter user penetration is above 5%, indicating a high use of Twitter in their
societies relative to other Arab countries.
2. Emerging countries: These countries’Twitter user penetration ranges from 1%-5%, indicating a medium penetration
of Twitter users relative to other Arab countries.
3. Developing users: These countries have Twitter user penetration rates are under 1%, indicating room for growth.


Figure 19: Twitter Penetration (above 1%) in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(Average for June 2012)*

14.00 12.83%

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00 5.33%

3.09% 3.25%
4.00 2.89%
2.02%
1.81%
2.00

0.00
Lebanon Turkey Saudi Arabia Qatar UAE Bahrain Kuwait

*2011 populations, from United Nations ILO Department of Statistics, http://laborsta.ilo.org/

Figure 20: Twitter Penetration (below 1%) in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(Average for June 2012)*

1.00% 0.92%
0.79%
0.80% 0.70%

0.60%

0.40% 0.34% 0.35%

0.20% 0.11% 0.12%
0.7% 0.8%
0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.5%
0.00%
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As with Facebook penetration, the populations used in calculating Twitter penetration are based on ILO statistics.

Volume of tweets in the Arab region
The volume of tweets from each country was estimated during the month of March (see Figures 21 & 22), and
calculated as a percentage of total tweets in the Arab region over this time period.
The top five generators of tweets in the Arab region during this month are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, and
Bahrain. Figure 23 shows that 88% of tweets in March 2012 were generated by these five countries.

88% of tweets in March 2012 were generated by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the
UAE and Bahrain


Figure 21 - Number of Tweets (over 1 million) in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(March 1-30, 2012)

Turkey 58,900,000
Kuwait 58,900,000
Saudi Arabia 49,600,000
Egypt 19,530,000
UAE 15,500,000
Bahrain 8,680,000
Qatar 5,580,000
Lebanon 2,759,000
Jordan 2,604,000
Israel 2,573,000
Morocco 2,232,000
Syria 1,488,000
Palestine 1,364,000
Iran 1,333,000

0 10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000

Figure 22 - Number of Tweets (under 1 million) in the Arab Region plus Iran, Israel and Turkey
(March 1-30, 2012)

Iraq 992,000
Tunsia 713,000
Oman 527,000
Yemen 496,000
Algeria 496,000
Libya 341,000
Sudan 310,000
Somalia 303,800
Djibouti 43,400
Mauritania 29,450
Comoros 22,940

0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000

Figure 23: Percentage of Tweets in the Arab Region (March 1 –30, 2012)

12%
Kuwait
5%

34% Saudi Arabia
9%
Egypt

UAE
11%
Bahrain

Remaining Countries
29%


English and Arabic are the dominant languages for Twitter users in the Arab
region, with Arabic tweets numbering almost double those in English through
March 2012 (62.1% and 32.6% respectively)

Top Twitter trends in the Arab region
The top trends for each country were estimated during the months of February and March 2012. Across the region, the
top five trending hashtags are illustrated in Figure 24 below. The introduction of Arabic terms for the first time into the
top trending phrases in the region is an indication of the fast growth of Arabic use on Twitter.

Figure 24: Top Twitter Trends in the Arab Region in Feb & March 2012 (number of mentions)

3,000,000 2,800,000

2,500,000

2,000,000
1،500،000 1،480،000
1,500,000 1,300,000

1,000,000 900,000 860,000

500,000

0
#bahrain ‫سوريا‬ ‫بحرين‬ #syria #egypt #kuwait

Language breakdown of Twitter users
English and Arabic are the dominant languages for Twitter users in the Arab region, with Arabic tweets numbering
almost double those in English through March 2012 (62.1% and 32.6% respectively).
As with Facebook, the use of Arabic has grown on Twitter, with Figure 25 illustrating the shift in language preference
across the region, between September 2011 and March 2012.

Figure 25: Percentage of Tweets in the Arab Region by Language (Sep 2011 and March 2012)

70
62.1
60

48.2
50 44.4
Sep. 2011
40
32.6
30 Mar. 2012

20

10 7.4
5.3

0
Arabic English Other


Looking at the top Twitter users in the region, we can see this is the case in the top five Twitter populations, all of whom
have seen an increase in the number of Arabic tweets between September 2011 and March 2012, even if only a slight
one in the case of Egypt. (see Figure 26).

Figure 26: Percentage of Tweets in Arabic – Top Five Twitter Populations (Sep. 2011 and March 2012)

90

80 77
71
70 64
59 58
60
52
49 48
50 Mar. 2012
40 36
Sep. 2011
30

20 17

10

0
Egypt Saudi Kuwait UAE Bahrain

5. Mapping Linked in the Arab World - Users Growth in 2012
The number of active Twitter users globally grew to over 500 million by February 2012, tweeting 2 billion tweets a week.
As officially defined by Twitter, an “active user” is someone who logs in (but does not necessarily tweets) once a month.

Twitter penetration and uptake in the Arab region
As of June 2012, the number of LinkedIn users, the professional social networking site, on a global level have exceeded
160 million users. Of these, data is only available for the following Arab countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE. This covers all GCC countries, North African
countries (excluding Libya and Mauritania) in addition to Lebanon and Jordan.


LinkedIn in the Arab World: A Snapshot
• The total number of LinkedIn users in the Arab world13 stands at 4,294,484 (as of end June, 2012), up from
3,588,215 at the beginning of the February. (see Figure 27)
• By the end of June 2012, the country average for LinkedIn user penetration in the Arab region was
approximately 2%.
• The number of LinkedIn users in the Arab world has grown by 20% between February and June 2012).
• Similarly to Facebook, the percentage of female users is lower than that of the men, at 28%. This is also
significantly lower than the global trend, where women constitute 43% of LinkedIn users.
• Young people (between the ages of 18 and 34) make up around 70% of LinkedIn users, and similarly to
Facebook, seem to be the driving force behind the growth of LinkedIn. Interestingly, of this segment, the
university students and fresh graduates make up a much smaller percentage than young people who are more
established in their careers

11
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.


Figure 27: Number of LinkedIn Users* in Selected Arab Countries (Feb – June 2012)

4,500,000

4,000,000

3,500,000

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000
2/2/2012 9/2/2012 20/2/2012 27/2/2012 11/3/2012 17/3/2012 26/3/2012 10/4/2012 23/4/2012 7/5/2012 26/6/2012

* Combined Total for: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and UAE

LinkedIn penetration varies across these countries, with the UAE ranking at the top - as it does with Facebook penetration
as well – in this case, with a rate of 12.8% (see Figure 28).

LinkedIn is more popular with young and established professionals than it is
with university students and fresh graduates, in the Arab region

Figure 28: LinkedIn Penetration in Select Arab Countries as a Percentage of Population – June 2012

14.00
12.8

12.00

9.8
10.00

8.00 7.0
6.1
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Demographic and gender breakdown of LinkedIn penetration
As with Facebook, youth (in this case 18-35 year-olds) make up the majority of LinkedIn users, at 72.2%. The GCC
countries, with the exception of Oman, are more balanced in terms of youthful and adult users, while North African
countries, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco have predominantly young users (see Figure 29). Interestingly, it is the 25-
34 age bracket that makes up two thirds of these youth, indicating that LinkedIn is more popular with young and
established professionals, than it is with university students and fresh graduates, in the Arab region.


Figure 29: Demographic Breakdown of LinkedIn Users in the Select Arab Countries (June 2012)

100%
11
90% 17 18 22 26 28 28 39 41 42 45 46
80%

70%

60% 35 & above-
LinkedIn
50%
89 83 82
40%

30% 78 74 72 72 61 59 58 55 54 18-34-LinkedIn
20%

10%

0%
Oman Morocco Tunisia Algeria Jordan Egypt Lebanon Saudi Bahrain UAE Kuwait Qatar
Arabia

When it comes to Arab women on LinkedIn, much like Facebook, their usage is well below the global average (in this case, 27.2%
compared to the global female average of 42.6%). Lebanon is, as with Facebook, the most gender-balanced of the Arab countries
when it comes to LinkedIn usage, while most of the GCC countries, have predominantly male users, with Saudi Arabia being the
country with the most male dominated users base, reflecting the realities of job market in the kingdom. (see Figures 30 & 31)

Figure 30: Gender Breakdown of LinkedIn Users in the Select Arab Countries (June 2012)

100%
12
90% 18 21 22 24 25 27 30 35 37 39 43
80%

70%

60% Female-LinkedIn
50%

40%
88 82 79 78 76 75 73 70 65 63 61 57 Male - LinkedIn
30%

20%

10%

0%
Saudi Oman Kuwait Qatar Egypt Bahrain UAE Jordan Algeria Tunisia Morocco Lebanon
Arabia

Figure 31: Percentage of Male LinkedIn and Facebook Users in Select Arab Countries (June 2012)

100.00
88
90.00
82 79
80.00 78 76 75 73
69 70 67 70 67 70 68
70.00 65 65
61 63 61 61
58 58
60.00 57 55 Male-LinkedIn
50.00

40.00
Male-Facebook
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10.00

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In comparing the penetration rates of different popular social media sites in select Arab countries (see Figure 32),
Facebook clearly is at the forefront, and despite the breadth of impact and exposure Twitter has had throughout the
Arab spring and beyond, its penetration remains behind that of LinkedIn - except in Kuwait – indicating that job hunting
and professional networking services through LinkedIn are more relevant than the informational, social and political
uses of social media that Twitter provides.

The percentage of female LinkedIn users is lower than that of the men, at 28%,
and is also significantly lower than the global trend, where women constitute
43% of LinkedIn users

Figure 32: Penetration of Social Media Users in the Select Arab Countries (June 2012)

45.00
40.63
40.00

34.14 34.31
35.00 32.71
29.28
30.00 27.90
25.93
25.00

19.18
20.00
16.62
15.00 13.10 13.42
12.83 12.78
9.50 9.76
10.00
7.05
5.33 6.05
4.07 4.35
5.00 2.89 3.09 2.86 3.25
2.47 2.07 1.81
0.93 0.73 1.29 0.11 0.92
0.02 0.35 0.12 0.34
0.00
Algeria Egypt Morocco Oman Saudi Bahrain Tunisa Qatar Lebanon Jordan Kuwait UAE
Arabia

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter

Twitter penetration remains behind that of LinkedIn - except in Kuwait –
indicating that job hunting and professional networking services through
LinkedIn are more relevant in the region than the informational, social and
political uses of social media that Twitter provides


A Snapshot: Youtube and Google+ in the Arab World
The video-sharing platform Youtube, has played a key role during the so called ‘Arab spring’, boosting citizen journalism
potential to unprecedented terrains in the region. It is arguably the primary social networking platform that effectively
established the strong convergence between traditional broadcast media and social media in the Arab region. Box 1
below provides a snapshot on the use of YouTube and Google+ in the Arab region:


A Snapshot: Youtube and Google+ in the Arab World
• YouTube playbacks doubled in the last year in the Arab region
• There are 167 million video views a day in the Arab region, putting the region in the number two spot in the
world (behind the U.S. and ahead of Brazil). Views in the region have grown by 120% in the last six months.
• One hour of YouTube video is uploaded in the Arab region per minute
• There are 90 million video views in Saudi per day (the highest number of YouTube views in the world per
Internet user)
• Saudi Arabia leads the region with the most playbacks followed by Egypt, Morocco and UAE
• Country specific data of YouTube usage in 2011 versus 2010:
- Saudi Arabia: uploads jumped 200% - views increased 260%
- Egypt: uploads jumped 150% - views increased 220%
- Tunisia: #uploads increased 420% - uploads increased 100%
- Yemen: # views jumped 150%
- Jordan: # uploads increased 140% - views increased 240%

Saudi Arabia - User Profile:
50% of YouTube users are women
The age of the average YouTube user is 33 years old
36% of YouTube users have a university degree
65% of YouTube users access the internet via a smartphone

Egypt - User Profile:
41% of YouTube users are women
The age of the average YouTube user is 35 years old
67% of YouTube users have a university degree
28% of YouTube users access the internet via a smartphone
19% of these users access YouTube via their smartphones


Regional Overview of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• Facebook has seen exponential growth in the Arab region, growing by 50% in six months. Country rankings have
changed slightly since last September, with Qatar regaining a place in the top five ranking (edging out Tunisia),
while Levant countries like Lebanon and Jordan still maintained their positions, and UAE and Kuwait continued to
lead in terms of Facebook penetration
• Female participation in Facebook usage remains low, at 33.7%, as compared with the global female percentage of
Facebook users (roughly 50%).
• Youth between 15 and 29 years of age continue to drive the growth of Facebook in the region, comprising 70% of
Facebook users.
• When it comes to Twitter usage, Lebanon has climbed into the top five countries in terms of active Twitter users,
edging out Bahrain, although GCC countries (specifically, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait) continue to figure
strongly, along with Egypt.
• Both Facebook and Twitter have shown strong growth in numbers of Arabic users and content posted in Arabic,
indicating that these tools are being adopted by broader segments of society and not just those with a specific
level of education and knowledge of English
• LinkedIn has also seen growth throughout the first half of 201214, with penetration rates that surpass those of
Twitter in all these countries (except for Kuwait).
• The percentage of female LinkedIn users is lower than that of the men, at 28%, and is also significantly lower than
the global trend, where women constitute 43% of LinkedIn users.
• Young people (between the ages of 18 and 34) make up around 70% of LinkedIn users, and seem to be the driving
force behind the growth of LinkedIn. Interestingly, of this segment, the university students and fresh graduates
make up a much smaller percentage than young people who are more established in their careers

There are 167 million YouTube video views a day in the Arab region, putting
the region in the number two spot in the world (behind the U.S. and ahead of
Brazil). Views in the region have grown by 120% in the last six months

14
In the following countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE)


Annex 1

Facebook data
The number of Facebook users in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey, was collected periodically
between January 3 and June 25, 2012, with breakdowns for men and women, and in the following age brackets—youth
(15-29), and adults (30 and over).
Raw data on for all Arab countries was collected and aggregated based on Facebook’s official data (Group A), excluding
Syria, Sudan and Iran (Group B), for which data was extracted from a source other than Facebook. Due to US imposed
technology export sanctions, no data on the number of Facebook users in Syria, Sudan and Iran is available. The actual
numbers of Facebook users in Syria and Iran (in November 2007 and June 2008, respectively) were located through online
research; no such data for Sudan was found. For that reason, all Facebook data on Sudan in this report was estimated using
the daily growth rate of Arab users (calculated from the Group A countries over two different periods for different reports -
between January 5 and April 5, 2011 and between January 3 and April 3, 2012). This rate was used to calculate the number
of users in group B, for consistency’s sake, to ensure a smaller error margin than using the growth rates of similar countries
for each individual country.
For Syria, specifically, after February 7, 2011, when social media sites were no longer banned in the country, a different
daily growth rate was used to reflect the ensuing surge in growth number of Facebook users. This rate was based on the
average daily growth rate in Yemen, which has a similar ICT and socio-economic indicators as Syria and witnessed an
uprising influenced by Facebook and other social media networks as well. In addition, a one-off factor was added to the
calculation of the Syria growth rate after lifting the ban on social media website on February 7, 2011. This was estimated
based on the surge in number of Facebook users in Egypt after a similar Internet ban was lifted on 2nd February 2011. In
order to maintain accuracy, the average daily growth rate for Yemen was recalculated at several points in time and applied
to generate the number of Syrian Facebook users.
It should be noted that for all charts in this paper, the numbers of Facebook users in Syria, Sudan and Iran are estimates,
while the numbers for remaining countries were compiled based on official Facebook data.

Twitter data
The number of Twitter users, number of tweets, and top trends in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey,
was estimated between February 8th and 30th, 2012 by sampling 85,900 Twitter users and 1.96 million tweets. The
study was conducted using a specially developed Twitter API. Additionally, the number of Twitter users in June 2012, was
estimated using the growth rate between the previous two sampling periods September 2011 and March 2012.
Two sampling methods were used:
1. Trend & volume data was collected by sampling 1% of the whole of Twitter traffic, and filtering for location.
2. Users were sampled by randomly inspecting user ID numbers. This allows for finding information on both active and
inactive users.
The population estimates come from combining these two data sources (sample (2) gives a picture of user behavior, which
helps assess the fraction of the population that was picked up in sample (1)). An estimated correction was applied for un-
locatable users.
Data collection was done by filtering the Twitter sample stream (which provides 1% of all tweets as they happen) for
tweets from the right country. An unbiased distribution of tweet frequency was obtained by random sampling of the user
space.
Geo Location (identifying the country from a location) was done by filtering tweets with location information using a
mixture of Yahoo and Google’s geolocation services, plus a local database & some extra clean-up for mistakes by one of
these services.


Population estimation was done by estimating the probability of seeing a given user appear in the stream, given the
sampling period, tweet-frequency distribution, and the stream behavior (witnessed in the 1% sample of tweets; assumed
unbiased). A second correction was applied for un-locatable users.

LinkedIn data
The number of LinkedIn users in 12 Arab countries15: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE, was collected periodically between February 2nd and June 26th, 2012, with
breakdowns for men and women, and in the following age brackets: 18-24, 25-34, 35-54, 55 and above.

14
These are the only Arab countries for which the LinkedIn website provides data. Of these, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman and Tunisia were only
introduced in June 2012.


Annex 2

The content of Annex 2 is available exclusively for members of the ASMR community
online on the ASMR website:

www.ArabSocialMediaReport.com

Join the Arab Social Media Report community online. Registration (at no cost) will give
you access to the following datasets, in addition to unpublished charts:

Facebook Users and Country Populations in the Arab World - June 2012

Number of Number of New Growth in number New Facebook
Facebook
Facebook Facebook users of Facebook users users since
Country Population* Penetration
users since 1/3/2012 since 1/3/2012 1/3/2012 (as % of
(%)
(6/26/2012) (%) (%) population)

Volume of Tweets and Twitter users in the Arab Region Q1 - 2012

Estimated Number
Twitter penetration Estimated Tweet
of Twitter Users
Country Population* (Avg.through June, Volume (Avg. through
(Avg. through June,
2012) March 2012)
2012)

LinkedIn Users and Country Populations in Select Arab Countries – June 2012

Number of LinkedIn LinkedIn
Country Population*
Users (6/26/2012 penetration (%)

Social Media, Internet and Mobile Subscription Rates in the Arab Region - June 2012
** ITU statistics 2011 http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx

Estimated
Number Twitter Number of Number of
Facebook LinkedIn Internet Mobile
of Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Country penetration penetration penetration users per subscriptions
Users (Avg. users Users
(%)* (%)* (%)* 100** per 100**
through (6/26/2012 (6/26/2012)
June, 2012)

Language interface Preferred by Facebook Users* (as a percentage)- Ranked by Arabic

Arabic (% of Facebook English (% of French (% of
Country
users) Facebook users) Facebook users)

Percentage of Facebook Users who prefer the English User Interface (chart)
Percentage of Facebook Users who prefer the French User Interface (chart)


About the Authors
The Arab Social Media Report series is produced by DSG’s Governance and Innovation Program, and co-authored by Racha
Mourtada and Fadi Salem.

Fadi Salem is Director of the Governance Racha Mourtada is a Research Associate in
and Innovation Program in the Dubai School the Governance and Innovation Program in
of Government. the Dubai School of Government

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their personal appreciation to Danya Bashir and Maryam Minhas for their invaluable
contribution to the research; and would like to acknowledge the efforts of the following individuals in providing essential
contributions, input and assistance into the report and its related materials:

Jineesh M. Illath

Saleha BuKattara

Sahar Jawad

Daniel Winterstein

Selma Nagbou

Dr. Lubna Al-Kazi

Ahmed Esmat

Sami Al-Mubarak and Mina Nagy from Taghreedat

Rama Chakaki from Baraka Ventures

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About the Governance and Innovation Program
The Governance and Innovation Program at DSG conducts research and programmatic activities focusing on policies
for government innovation and development through information technologies in the Arab states. The objectives
of the program are aligned with regional objectives towards nurturing a culture of innovation in society, promoting
participatory, inclusive and transparent government models; and enabling more responsive and efficient governance
through effective adoption of information technologies.
The program works on three tracks:
1. Policy and Scholarly Research: Conducting research focusing on government policies and societal transformation
through technological innovation in the Arab region.
2. Policy Advisory: The ultimate objective of the Program is to inform present and future Arab policy makers in
assessing the impact of the ongoing transformations in their societies and governments; and to help develop
locally fitting policies for future governance initiatives.
3. Regional Development Activities: The Program brings together regional and international networks of
practitioners and scholars working in related areas through programmatic and educational activities, in order to
encourage proactive regional knowledge sharing and bridge the gap between policy and research.

About the Dubai School of Government
The Dubai School of Government (DSG) is a research and teaching institution focusing on public policy in the Arab
world. Established in 2005 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and
Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, in cooperation with the Harvard Kennedy School, DSG
aims to promote good governance through enhancing the region’s capacity for effective public policy.
Toward this goal, the Dubai School of Government also collaborates with regional and global institutions in its research
and training programs. In addition, the School organizes policy forums and international conferences to facilitate the
exchange of ideas and promote critical debate on public policy in the Arab world. The School is committed to the
creation of knowledge, the dissemination of best practice and the training of policy makers in the Arab world. To achieve
this mission, the School is developing strong capabilities to support research and teaching programs including
• applied research in public policy and management;
• master’s degrees in public policy and public administration;
• executive education for senior officials and executives; and,
• knowledge forums for scholars and policy makers.

Dubai School of Government, Convention Tower, Level 13, P.O. Box 72229
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: 971-4-329-3290, Fax: 971-4-329-3291
Email: info@dsg.ac.ae, www.dsg.ae

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