The UAE ranks first in the world for citizen satisfaction with digital government services, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey that placed the country ahead of 43 others. Nearly 90 per cent of UAE respondents rated the services highly.
BCG released the results on Tuesday, October 6, on the sidelines of the AI Everything summit in Abu Dhabi. The survey drew about 48,500 responses. The UAE also came first for actual use of digital government services, at 53 per cent. More than three quarters of UAE respondents said their most recent online transaction with the government gave them a better experience than a typical dealing with a private company.
The Gulf stood out as a region. Represented in the survey by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it was the only region where most citizens rated government services above those of the private sector. Gulf residents were also the most open to AI in government, with almost 80 per cent willing to use AI-powered government services, against 66 per cent globally. On the wider question of whether AI’s benefits outweigh its risks, 53 per cent of UAE respondents agreed, compared with 50 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 46 per cent in Qatar, for a Gulf average of 49 per cent. The equivalent figures were 27 per cent in Europe, 30 per cent in North America, 37 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 36 per cent globally.
Rami Mourtada, a partner and director at BCG, said the UAE’s result reflects “years of investment in making public services more accessible”. He said governments now have a chance to build on that foundation, and that the next phase will be about deploying AI where it creates clear value. Lars Littig, a managing director and senior partner at the firm, said building literacy and trust will be critical as citizens become more familiar with AI.
The findings support the UAE government’s decision to make AI and related technology a national priority, with a strategy that aims to deliver government services that are reliable and secure while saving time and money for users. The country is the Arab world’s second-largest economy. The survey’s data on public openness to AI gives Gulf governments room to move more services onto AI-driven platforms, though the BCG partners’ comments make clear that trust will need to keep pace with the technology.
