The importance of social media in the Middle East has been clearly highlighted to the entire world as a result of events such as the Arab Spring and Egyptian Revolution.
Over the last few years the Middle East has become one of the main hubs for social media. It is estimated that 3.7% of internet users around the world are from this region and that over 4% of the local population have internet access. Due to the widespread availability of the internet and mobile phone, the user base of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have grown at a massive rate. According to the infographic the Middle East has 58 million Facebook users, 6.5 million twitter users and 5.8 million LinkedIn users. People in the Middle East also tend to prefer using social media platforms in English (48%) as opposed to Arabic (45%).
In terms of demographics the study highlights a number of interesting facts. Men are more likely than women to use of social media platforms (65% male vs 45% female). Children and young adults are the two main groups who use social media with 36% of those in the 18-24 age bracket and 32% of those in the 25-34 age bracket being the most active users in social media communities. This age groups are mostly likely to use Facebook (94%), Twitter (52%), and Google+ (46%) though Instagram and LinkedIn also have a strong presence.
Some countries have a strong social media presence than others. Research presented in the infographic show that Egyptians have the strongest social media presence with 1 in 4 Arab Facebook users coming from the country. Other areas in the Middle East such as Saudia Arabia and the UAE account for about 8% of users in the Gulf Region. Interestingly, in the UAE LinkedIn is more popular than Twitter probably due its business focus.
Infographic courtesy of Go-Gulf.com