AI OBSERVATORY / SIGNALS

AIO-S0002 · 23 OCT 2026

Near the ceiling: internet use in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, 2015 to 2024/25

We observe three of five states at 100% internet use; Oman, the lowest at 95.3%, gained 21.7 points since 2015.

AIO Research Team · The AI Observatory

95.3%
Oman, 2024: the lowest of the five, up from 73.5% in 2015 [1]
3 of 5
States at 100%: UAE and Bahrain (2024), Kuwait (2025) [1]
98.1%
Qatar, 2024, down from 99.7% in 2020 [1]

Coverage: UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman · Latest year: 2025 for Kuwait, 2024 for the other four [1]

What we observe

World Bank data, sourced from ITU, give the share of individuals using the internet [1][2]. Latest values: UAE 100 (2024), Bahrain 100 (2024), Kuwait 100 (2025), Qatar 98.1 (2024), Oman 95.3 (2024). In 2015 the values were UAE 90.5, Bahrain 93.5, Kuwait 82.0, Qatar 92.9 and Oman 73.5 [1]. Oman rose 21.7 points and Kuwait 18.0 points (our calculation). Qatar shows 99.7 in 2020 and 98.1 in 2024; we report the series as published and do not interpret the dip.

The gap between the highest and lowest of the five states is 4.7 points: internet use is close to universal.
Chart from AIO-S0002 (PDF page 2): Individuals using the internet, % of population [1]
Individuals using the internet, % of population [1]

Why it matters

Near-universal connection means internet use no longer separates these states. This is why AIO Watch scores D1 on a fixed 0 to 100 scale rather than min-max: min-max would turn a 4.7-point gap into a 0 to 100 spread and rank Oman last on a near-ceiling measure [3]. Differences in AI adoption must be measured elsewhere, through indicators A to C.

Method

Source: World Bank Open Data indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS (ITU estimates), queried via the World Bank API on 23 Oct 2026 for 2015 to 2025 [1]. Values are rounded to one decimal place. Latest year differs by state. Point changes are our own calculation. The scaling rule follows AIO Watch method note AIO-M01, v1.1 [3].

References

  1. [1] World Bank. Individuals using the Internet (% of population), IT.NET.USER.ZS. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS (API query: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/ARE;QAT;BHR;KWT;OMN/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&date=2015:2025). Accessed 23 Oct 2026.
  2. [2] ITU. ICT statistics. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx. Accessed 23 Oct 2026.
  3. [3] AIO Research Team. AIO Watch method note AIO-M01, v1.1 (internal), 23 Oct 2026.

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