Internet users in the Mena region comprise 5.2 per cent of the world's users and numbered 85.5 million in 2008, compared to 16 million in 2003, said the report. Their share of the world's total users rose from two per cent to 5.2 per cent over the same period.
Iran led the region with 41.1 million internet users as of 2008 and Egypt came second with 12.6 million. When examined relative to population size, the widest access to internet was found again in Iran, followed by the UAE.
Analysts say the recent "Twitter Revolution" in Iran, in which internet was used to mobilise protests against President Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election, has focused attention on the growing use of internet in the Mena region. Access to internet has expanded dramatically since 2003, benefiting consumers and improving the business environment. While governments are concerned about internet's political use, they understand its potential to boost the economy.
Opposition movements have used internet to mobilise and co-ordinate protests also in other places such as Egypt (April 2008) and Bahrain (2005-2006). The internet has been used by a variety of groups with diverse agendas – from secular liberals to trade unionists and rebels. New media has contributed to the advancement of civil society and promoting accountability.
In 2008 Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif surprised his country's internet community by leaving a comment on an opposition blog. In his comment, Nazif responded directly to criticism regarding the education system, while praising freedom of speech in the blogosphere.
However, governments have also responded with a crackdown on opposition websites and applying censorship. The strictest censorship is practised in Saudi Arabia, which in 2009 ordered internet cafes to install hidden surveillance cameras and keep a record of names of customers. However, internet users have generally been able to circumvent censorship.
While internet was slow to arrive in the region in the 1990s, its development has been rapid. The spread of internet is part of a wider trend of growing access to media and communications in the region.
In the 1990s and 2000s, satellite TV systems and mobile phones became standard household item even in poor countries in the Middle East.
Internet users in the region are typically under 35 years of age and predominantly male, although there are indications that the digital gap between men and women is narrowing. The young profile makes internet users a promising consumer market as they are more likely to be influenced by global consumer trends. The dominance of Arabic is an advantage as it allows addressing a wide audience in many countries.
The region's business environment has benefited from the advance in internet access. E-government initiatives have helped cut red tape and increased transparency and information availability make it easier to do business in the region.
While governments in the region understand the importance of internet, they are concerned over its use by opposition movements. Censorship and crackdowns on bloggers have become frequent.
Studies of Arab and Iranian blogosphere, conducted by Harvard University in 2008 and 2009, give an indication of the demographic profile of internet users. Arab and Iranian bloggers are overwhelmingly young (under the age of 35). Most bloggers are male, while the share of women among younger bloggers (under 25 years of age) is almost equal to men, which suggests that the digital gap between men and women is closing.
Judging by blogs, internet users primarily seek content relating to their country rather than that concerning regional issues. Thus, bloggers tend to cluster according to country with interests varying between politics, religion and culture.
Users benefit from internet as consumers and for their professional careers. Online retailing offers consumers a greater choice and convenience. Internet retailing is developing rapidly in the region, especially, though not exclusively, in the Gulf states such as Kuwait and the UAE. From international brand megastores offering electronics and entertainment products to family-owned sweet shops, businesses are expanding their online presence to capture the growing market.
Internet literacy improves chances in the labour market. In addition, the information and communications technology sector is growing across the Middle East and North Africa, providing employment opportunities in countries such as Jordan and Egypt, which suffer from high unemployment. Boosting internet skills increases human capital and helps promote knowledge-based economic sectors. This could assist in narrowing regional inequalities between resource-poor countries – such as Egypt, Jordan and Morocco – on the one hand and the hydrocarbon-rich economies of the Gulf on the other.
The advance of internet improves business environment and creates business opportunities. Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa suffer from a difficult business environment, with excessive red tape and cumbersome procedures. In the 2009 World Bank Ease of Doing Business survey, five of the region's major economies – Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco and Iran – were placed at the 101st place and below, out of 181 economies.
Governments across the region are investing in e-governance. According to a United Nations survey from 2008, the UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt all substantially improved their e-government services between 2005 and 2008, and their level of readiness was above the global average. New e-government services in the Middle East countries included online consultation, downloading and submission of forms and online payments for government services.
The lack of transparency and open access to data have been a major disadvantage for the region's business environment. The internet has improved access to data, which is available both from government websites and a wide variety of private and business sources.
The internet allows foreign businesses and investors to transcend borders easily, to form contacts and alliances with local business and to manage from afar distribution networks across this large region.
The internet also makes it easier for multi-national companies to train staff in distant locations through e-learning. In Saudi Arabia, the e-learning industry was estimated at $125 million (Dh458.75m) in 2008.
The dominance of Arabic as the written language of up to 279 million people in the region in 2008, is a major advantage. The internet allows businesses and online retailers to easily address Arab consumers in many countries without worrying about language barriers. At the same time, a one-size-fits-all approach would not always work, as internet cultures of different Arab countries vary considerably.
With the economies of the Mena region forecast to grow amid the global recession, internet access will continue to spread and its importance to consumers and businesses will increase.
Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to moderate, amid the global recession, yet remain positive. Real GDP growth in the region is expected to fall to 2.1 per cent in 2009 from 5.9 per cent in 2008, and recover to 3.7 per cent in 2010.
The internet could prove an effective way to reach consumers in the Middle East and North Africa, due to the growing digital literacy among youth. Jordan, for example, expects its internet literacy to reach 50 per 100 inhabitants by 2011 from 21.8 per 100 in 2008. Online marketing and retailing are set to expand to meet the growing demand.
The region's governments are expected to continue to crack down on the use of internet as a political tool.
Yet the wider benefits of internet to the economy and its general use by the population mean that the spread of internet access will not be reversed.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Nancy Sudheer
Quelle/Source: Emirates Business 24/7, 06.09.2009
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