UAE tops global digital transformation rankings across key government sectors

The UAE has achieved the top spot worldwide in several important digital areas. According to the latest “State of Digital Transformation Report,” the country leads in telecommunications infrastructure, digital government framework, and digital content. This report was shared by the UAE’s Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation during a recent event called the Digital Readiness Retreat.

The report shows how the UAE government has made big progress in 12 different sectors. These include the economy, finance, health, education, community services, culture, immigration, security, energy, logistics, and the environment.

Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and head of the committee, said that digital readiness and transformation are very important for the UAE leadership. Their goal is to reduce unnecessary paperwork and improve people’s lives by using technology.

She explained that the report highlights the UAE’s digital achievements over the past year and shows how the country ranks highly in global digital governance competitions. It is meant to encourage even more efforts to reach the country’s digital goals.

The UAE ranked first in several UN indexes, including telecommunications infrastructure, digital government, digital content, and digital knowledge. The country also led the 2024 Government AI Readiness Index by Oxford Insights. It ranked third in government service delivery and fourth in the GovTech Maturity Index by the World Bank. Additionally, the UAE was 11th in both the IMD Digital Competitiveness Index and the UN E-Government Development Index.

Thanks to the digital government efforts, the UAE saved users AED 368 billion and cut government costs by AED 20 billion. The digital changes also saved 530 million work hours and helped reduce carbon emissions by 55.8 million tonnes.

In 2024 alone, UAE federal government bodies handled 173.7 million digital transactions. Their websites received 131.5 million visits, and government apps were downloaded 26.3 million times. Currently, 1,419 digital services are available, with 195 considered a priority. The satisfaction rate for these digital services is 91%, helping over 57 million users. There are 460 active digital transformation projects in federal agencies.

In the digital government area, 10.8 million people used the UAE Pass, which now connects to 15,000 services and supports 2.6 billion digital transactions. In the economy sector, 5.2 million tax transactions were done digitally. Also, 316,800 certificates of origin and 64,100 trademark registrations and renewals were processed.

The finance sector completed 8,300 vendor registrations, 2,500 financial market employee accreditations, and 1,000 foreign investment fund renewals.

In human resources, 13.2 million work permit applications and 8 million employment contract transactions were processed, and 1.2 million training hours were given through the Jahiz digital learning platform.

The health sector filled 2 million prescriptions using robotic pharmacies, conducted 1 million chest X-rays with the help of artificial intelligence, and held 437,900 remote medical consultations. In education, digital learning was provided to 1.4 million people, and 445,700 university course registrations were completed.

Community services answered 115,600 digital questions, completed 243,800 zakat and donation transactions, and handled 125,700 digital requests for fatwas and zakat calculations. In security and justice, 4.2 million traffic fines were paid, 1.5 million vehicles registered, and 417,800 criminal record certificates were issued digitally.

The identity and residency sector managed 4.7 million Emirates ID renewals, 1.6 million residency permit renewals for the private sector, and 596,200 digital document attestations.

Infrastructure and logistics handled 5,900 housing assistance requests, issued 68,500 national transport permits, and granted 3,000 nuclear activity licenses.

In the environment sector, authorities processed 76,600 plant health certificates, 39,600 veterinary export certificates, and 59,900 agricultural product clearance transactions.

In culture, 2,400 library memberships were given, 368 cultural artifacts registered, and 162 event space rental requests completed.

This report shows the UAE’s strong commitment to using digital technology to improve government services and the lives of its people.