Key Takeaways:
- Global Digital Leadership: The UAE has secured top global rankings in telecommunications infrastructure, digital government institutional framework, and digital content.
- Widespread Digital Achievements: The “State of Digital Transformation Report” highlights the UAE government’s significant digital achievements across 12 key sectors, including economy, finance, health, and education.
- Efficiency and Savings: Digital government efforts have resulted in substantial efficiency gains, including billions saved for users and government, millions of labor hours saved, and a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
- High Digital Service Adoption: Federal government entities processed 173.7 million digital transactions in 2024, with a 91% satisfaction rate for digital services.
Dubai, UAE – The United Arab Emirates has cemented its position as a global leader in digital transformation, achieving top international rankings in several key indices related to digital infrastructure and governance. These achievements are detailed in the second edition of the “State of Digital Transformation Report,” released by the UAE’s Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation.
The report showcases the UAE government’s extensive digital accomplishments across 12 vital sectors, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to modernizing public services and enhancing quality of life through technology.
Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and Chair of the Committee, emphasized that digital readiness and transformation are core to the UAE leadership’s vision. She noted that the report serves as a testament to the nation’s leadership in global competitiveness indices, aiming to further motivate efforts toward national digital goals.
The UAE secured the first global position in the UN indices for telecommunications infrastructure, digital government framework, digital content, and digital knowledge. Additionally, it topped Oxford Insights’ “Government AI Readiness Index 2024,” ranked third in government service delivery, and fourth in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index. The country also placed 11th in both the IMD’s Digital Competitiveness Index and the UN E-Government Development Index.
Digital government initiatives have yielded remarkable efficiency gains, including AED 368 billion saved for users and AED 20 billion in government cost reductions. This transformation also saved 530 million labor hours and cut carbon emissions by 55.8 million tonnes.
In 2024 alone, federal government entities processed an impressive 173.7 million digital transactions. Federal websites garnered 131.5 million visits, and government applications were downloaded 26.3 million times. The UAE now offers 1,419 digital services, with 195 classified as priority services, achieving a high satisfaction rate of 91 percent among over 57 million users. Currently, 460 active digital transformation projects are underway across federal agencies.
Sector-specific digital achievements include:
- Digital Government: 10.8 million individuals used UAE Pass, connecting to 15,000 services and supporting 2.6 billion integrated digital transactions.
- Economic Sector: 5.2 million digital tax transactions, 316,800 certificates of origin, and 64,100 trademark registrations/renewals were completed.
- Finance Sector: 8,300 vendor registrations, 2,500 financial market employee accreditations, and 1,000 foreign investment fund renewals were processed.
- Human Resources: 13.2 million work permit applications, 8 million employment contract transactions, and 1.2 million training hours delivered via the “Jahiz” digital learning platform.
- Health: 2 million prescriptions filled by robotic pharmacies, 1 million AI-conducted chest X-rays, and 437,900 remote medical consultations.
- Education: 1.4 million individuals engaged in digital learning, and 445,700 university course registrations were processed digitally.
- Community Services: 115,600 digital inquiries, 243,800 zakat/donation transactions, and 125,700 digital fatwa/zakat calculations.
- Justice and Security: 4.2 million traffic fine payments, 1.5 million vehicle registrations, and 417,800 criminal record certificate applications processed digitally.
- Identity and Residency: 4.7 million Emirates ID renewals, 1.6 million private sector residency permit renewals, and 596,200 digital document attestations.
- Infrastructure and Logistics: 5,900 housing assistance requests, 68,500 national transport permits, and 3,000 nuclear activity licenses.
- Environmental Sector: 76,600 plant health certificates, 39,600 veterinary export certificates, and 59,900 agricultural product clearance transactions.
- Culture Sector: 2,400 library memberships, 368 cultural artifacts registered, and 162 event space rental requests fulfilled digitally.
These comprehensive digital advancements underscore the UAE’s strategic vision to leverage technology for sustainable development and an enhanced quality of life for its population.
