Summer holidays are just around the corner, and businesses will still be in session. Digital and social media marketing specialists out there are salivating for the latest data on users on the internet.
Courtesy of We Are Social’s fantastic work for each quarter’s Global Digital Statshot, their quarterly reports a goldmine of insights. The last time I wrote about the state of the Middle East was in October 2018. With Ramadan around the corner, what’s in store for the coming quarter?
Social Media in the Middle East
Social Media will be buzzing in the coming weeks during the month of Ramadan. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube will be abuzz with content to keep users engaged. Expect to see video consumption and plenty of food topics circulating from today.
Eligible Instagram Reach – Q2 2019 
Eligible Facebook Reach – Q2 2019 
Eligible Reach Snapchat – Q2 2019 
Largest Snapchat advertising audience – Q2 2019
Given the large social media audience in the Middle East region, this is how some countries stack up with respect to potential reach for social media advertising:
- Qatar and UAE take the Top 10 slot with the highest ‘Eligible Reach on Facebook’.
- Kuwait and Bahrain make it to the Top 10 with the highest ‘Eligible Reach on Instagram’
- ‘Eligible Reach on Snapchat’ is proving to be a big gain in the Middle East region for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and the UAE.
Mobile Internet Speeds
Although a few countries are working to roll-out 5G connectivity (Qatar and UAE have already deployed 5G), most of the world still uses 4G. Qatar (#3) and UAE (#7) are still in the Top 10 across the world for Mobile Internet Connection Speeds.
For the ones that make up the slowest connection speeds, Iraq and Palestine are some countries in the region that make the cut.
Voice Search Functionality
Given the power of built-in voice assistants on iOS (Siri) and Android (Google Assistant) on smartphones, we can’t forget other platforms like Microsoft Cortana and Amazon Alexa. With the Middle East, Arabic would be widely used for voice-powered search and commands.
Comparing the 41% share of voice search/commands worldwide, UAE and Saudi Arabia are just closely behind the global share. hat would greatly support the adoption of
Want to see more digital-related statistics from across the world? You can see the full Slideshare presentation below
Until the next quarter of the Global Digital Statshot report, as Ramadan is only days away which will completely change it for the coming months.
Image Credit: Q2 Global Digital Statshot by We Are Social
