Key UAE internet and smartphone statistics for 2026
- 100% of people in TDRA's ICT household survey had used the internet in the previous three months in 2025, up from 72% in 2008. (TDRA, May 2026)
- The UAE had 24,052,753 active mobile subscriptions in June 2026. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
- Active mobile subscriptions peaked at 24,768,935 in February 2026, the highest month in TDRA's series since 2011. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
- 100% of UAE residents aged 15-74 owned a smartphone in 2025, according to TDRA data reported to the ITU. (ITU, May 2026)
- Android ran on 73.3% of mobile web traffic in the UAE in September 2026; Apple's iOS had 26.68%. (Statcounter, Oct 2026)
- The UAE had the world's fastest mobile internet in August 2026, with a median download speed of 675.51 Mbps. (Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026)
- The UAE ranked 2nd in the world for fixed broadband in August 2026, with a median download speed of 382.40 Mbps. (Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026)
- 99.56% of the UAE population was covered by a 5G mobile network in 2025. (ITU, Jul 2026)
- 90.83% of UAE internet users made voice or video calls over the internet (VoIP) in 2025. (TDRA, May 2026)
- e& had 16.5 million customers in the UAE at the end of June 2026, up 6.4% from 15.5 million a year earlier. (e& results, Jul 2026)
- The cheapest 5 GB mobile data-only plan fell from US$42.89 a month in 2024 to US$29.16 in 2025. (ITU, Oct 2025)
- Prepaid mobile subscriptions fell from 19,099,892 in February 2026 to 18,360,210 in June 2026. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
How to cite this page. Use any figure here, credit the original source shown next to it, and link to this page: "UAE Internet & Smartphone Statistics 2026, Adjoltz, updated 15 October 2026, https://adjoltz.com/blog/uae-internet-smartphone-statistics/".
How many people in the UAE use the internet?
100% of people in TDRA's ICT household survey had used the internet in the previous three months in 2025, up from 72% in 2008. (TDRA, May 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 100% of UAE households had internet access at home in 2025, up from 66.4% in 2008. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| There were 11.3 million internet users in the UAE at the end of 2025, a penetration rate of 99.0%. | DataReportal (Kepios), Nov 2025 (estimate) |
| The UAE added 288,000 internet users between October 2024 and October 2025 (+2.6%). | DataReportal (Kepios), Nov 2025 (estimate) |
| 94.19% of UAE internet users went online at least once a day in 2025. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| In 2017, 96% of men and 92.5% of women in the UAE used the internet; since 2020 both have been at 100%. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
TDRA's survey covers people aged 15 to 74. DataReportal caps its estimate at 99%, so it is not a separate measurement.
How many mobile subscriptions are there in the UAE?
The UAE had 24,052,753 active mobile subscriptions in June 2026. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| A year earlier, in June 2025, the UAE had 22,970,202 active mobile subscriptions. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| Active mobile subscriptions stood at 24,278,380 in December 2025. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| Active mobile subscriptions peaked at 24,768,935 in February 2026, the highest month in TDRA's series since 2011. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| Active mobile subscriptions fell to 24,555,603 in March 2026, the first monthly drop of 2026. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| Active mobile subscriptions dropped to 24,036,390 in May 2026, the lowest since November 2025. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| TDRA counts 253.1 mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (June 2026). | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| Postpaid mobile subscriptions rose from 5,243,463 in June 2025 to 5,692,543 in June 2026. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| The UAE had 22,288,776 active mobile broadband subscriptions in 2025. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| There were 4,626,538 machine-to-machine (M2M) mobile subscriptions in the UAE in 2025, for cars, smart meters and other connected devices. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
TDRA's monthly per-100 figure uses a smaller population base than its annual data, so don't compare it with the annual 203 per 100 below.
How many people in the UAE own a smartphone?
100% of UAE residents aged 15-74 owned a smartphone in 2025, according to TDRA data reported to the ITU. (ITU, May 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Mobile phones generated 60.04% of web page views in the UAE in September 2026, against 38.91% from desktops. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Tablets accounted for just 1.05% of UAE web page views in September 2026. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| 55.33% of UAE internet users went online on a mobile phone while out and about (commuting, walking, any place) in 2025, up from 46.105% in 2024. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| 79% of UAE households accessed the internet over mobile broadband in 2025, up from 40.5% in 2022. | TDRA, May 2026 |
Which phones and browsers do people in the UAE use?
Android ran on 73.3% of mobile web traffic in the UAE in September 2026; Apple's iOS had 26.68%. (Statcounter, Oct 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Samsung phones generated 23.06% of mobile web traffic in the UAE in September 2026, second to Apple. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Xiaomi was the third-biggest phone brand by UAE mobile web traffic, at 15.23% (September 2026). | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Oppo (7.01%) and Vivo (6.81%) were the next-largest phone brands by UAE mobile web traffic in September 2026. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Google Chrome handled 70.15% of web browsing in the UAE in September 2026 (all devices). | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Google had 93.47% of the UAE search engine market in September 2026. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
| Bing had 3.96% of UAE search referrals in September 2026, ahead of Yandex at 1.8%. | Statcounter, Oct 2026 |
Statcounter measures page views, not phones owned. Apple's share of mobile traffic is the same figure as iOS.
How many broadband connections does the UAE have?
The UAE had 4,915,872 broadband subscriptions in June 2026. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Fixed broadband subscriptions grew from 3,045,957 in 2019 to 4,886,852 in 2025. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| Fixed telephone lines fell to 1,907,965 in June 2026, from 1,984,410 in January 2023. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| The UAE had 573,079 dial-up internet subscriptions in January 2011; the last 136 were gone by January 2018, and TDRA has recorded 0 every month since. | TDRA, Sep 2026 |
| e& had 1.4 million fixed broadband customers in the UAE at the end of June 2026, up 1.8% year on year. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
| du had 744,000 fixed customers at the end of Q2 2026, up 5.5% year on year, helped by its Home Wireless product. | du results, Jul 2026 |
How fast is the internet in the UAE?
The UAE had the world's fastest mobile internet in August 2026, with a median download speed of 675.51 Mbps. (Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The UAE ranked 2nd in the world for fixed broadband in August 2026, with a median download speed of 382.40 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| Measured by the mean rather than the median, UAE mobile downloads averaged 763.70 Mbps in August 2026 (still ranked 1st). | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| Abu Dhabi ranked 1st among the cities in Ookla's index for mobile speed in August 2026 (median 702.28 Mbps); Dubai ranked 4th at 522.64 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| For fixed broadband, Abu Dhabi ranked 2nd among the cities in Ookla's index (median 408.67 Mbps) and Dubai 5th (340.44 Mbps) in August 2026. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| UAE median mobile download speed in the August 2025 Speedtest Global Index: 614.64 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| UAE median mobile download speed in the November 2025 Speedtest Global Index: 672.68 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| UAE median mobile download speed in the February 2026 Speedtest Global Index: 681.18 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| UAE median mobile download speed in the May 2026 Speedtest Global Index: 642.86 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| TDRA reported an average mobile broadband download throughput of 896,842,000 bits per second (896.842 Mbps) for 2025. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
Ookla figures are medians from its August 2026 index unless marked otherwise.
How much 5G coverage does the UAE have?
99.56% of the UAE population was covered by a 5G mobile network in 2025. (ITU, Jul 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 5G covered 99.46% of the UAE population in 2024. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| 5G covered 98.92% of the UAE population in 2023. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| 5G covered 97.03% of the UAE population in 2022. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| 5G already covered 90.74% of the UAE population in 2021. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| The GSMA names the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar as the three MENA countries with the highest 5G and IoT adoption in 2024. | GSMA, Nov 2025 |
| Worldwide, 55.1% of people were covered by a 5G network in 2025. | ITU, Oct 2026 |
| In the Arab States region as a whole, only 12.5% of people had 5G coverage in 2025. | ITU, Oct 2026 |
What do people in the UAE do online?
90.83% of UAE internet users made voice or video calls over the internet (VoIP) in 2025. (TDRA, May 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 87.62% of UAE internet users interacted with government bodies online in 2025. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| 89.46% of UAE internet users looked up information on goods and services online in 2025. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| UAE mobile networks carried 7.172 exabytes of data in 2025, up from 0.795 exabytes in 2020. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| Fixed broadband connections in the UAE carried 45.649 exabytes of traffic in 2025, up from 37.4147 exabytes in 2024. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| UAE international internet bandwidth usage reached 17,361,264 Mbit/s in 2025, up from 14,351,264 Mbit/s in 2024. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| There were 356,780 .ae domain names registered in 2025, up from 204,935 in 2017. | TDRA, May 2026 |
How big are the UAE's telecom operators?
e& had 16.5 million customers in the UAE at the end of June 2026, up 6.4% from 15.5 million a year earlier. (e& results, Jul 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| e& UAE had 11.1 million prepaid and 3.7 million postpaid mobile subscribers at the end of Q2 2026. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
| e& UAE revenue rose 3.3% year on year to AED 8.9 billion in Q2 2026. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
| du had 9.3 million mobile customers at the end of Q2 2026, up 1.6% year on year. | du results, Jul 2026 |
| du's postpaid base grew 9.0% year on year to 2.1 million customers in Q2 2026. | du results, Jul 2026 |
| du's fixed revenue jumped 11.6% year on year to AED 1.2 billion in Q2 2026. | du results, Jul 2026 |
| Revenue from all telecommunication services in the UAE was US$9,497,992,119.81 in 2024, up from US$8,384,312,163.65 in 2023. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| Mobile networks earned $5.07bn of UAE telecom revenue in 2024. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
| Telecom operators in the UAE invested $1.49bn in their networks and services in 2024. | ITU, Jul 2026 |
How much does internet access cost in the UAE?
The cheapest 5 GB mobile data-only plan fell from US$42.89 a month in 2024 to US$29.16 in 2025. (ITU, Oct 2025)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The cheapest non-promotional fixed broadband plan with at least 5 GB a month cost US$19.73 a month in the UAE in 2025. | ITU, Oct 2025 |
| That fixed broadband basket equalled 0.48% of average monthly income (GNI per capita) in 2025. | ITU, Oct 2025 |
| A 5 GB mobile data plan cost 0.71% of monthly GNI per capita in the UAE in 2025. | ITU, Oct 2025 |
| TDRA lists the monthly charge for fixed wired broadband at AED 69 every year since 2016, down from AED 199 in 2013 and 2014. | TDRA, May 2026 |
| e& earned AED 475 per fixed broadband line on average in Q2 2026. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
| e& UAE's blended mobile ARPU was AED 72 in Q2 2026, down from AED 77 a year earlier. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
| A local mobile call cost AED 0.13 a minute (excluding VAT) in TDRA's price indicator from 2015 to 2025, down from AED 0.36 in 2014. | TDRA, May 2026 |
How does the UAE compare with the rest of the world?
The UAE had 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2024, against a world average of 110.4. (World Bank, Oct 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The UAE had 40.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2024, more than double the world average of 19.31. | World Bank, Oct 2026 |
| 73.6% of the world's population used the internet in 2025, according to the ITU. | ITU, Oct 2026 |
| The global median mobile download speed was 109.05 Mbps in August 2026. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| The global median fixed broadband download speed was 129.68 Mbps in August 2026; Singapore led at 462.50 Mbps, with the UAE second. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
| Qatar had the world's second-fastest mobile internet in August 2026 at 535.94 Mbps, followed by Kuwait at 399.92 Mbps. | Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026 |
What changed in UAE mobile use in 2026?
Prepaid mobile subscriptions fell from 19,099,892 in February 2026 to 18,360,210 in June 2026. (TDRA, Sep 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| du's prepaid base shrank 0.4% year on year to 7.2 million in Q2 2026, which du put down to a sharp fall in tourism. | du results, Jul 2026 |
| du's Q2 2026 revenue grew 4.6% to AED 4,083 million, which du said reflected "softer trends that emerged in March". | du results, Jul 2026 |
| e& UAE's mobile subscribers slipped 0.4% between Q1 and Q2 2026 on a lower prepaid base, while postpaid kept growing. | e& results, Jul 2026 |
The operators give these reasons in their own results; we don't add our own explanation.
How we built this page
Every figure comes from the organisation that produced it: government bodies and regulators, company filings and official documents, and original research by the organisation that ran it. We opened each source, confirmed the number on the page and kept the exact wording in a verification sheet, checked on 15 October 2026. Monthly subscription counts are TDRA open data to June 2026. Ookla speed figures are quoted with a link, not charted, because Ookla's terms require permission to reuse its data commercially. Research paid for by a company with an interest in the result is labelled "commissioned", and modelled figures are labelled "estimate". We check every source link monthly and refresh the numbers each quarter.
Sources
- du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company), du reports a healthy H1 2026 performance with 12.6% net profit growth (2026-07-22)
- e& (Emirates Telecommunications Group), e& Earnings Release - Second Quarter 2026 (2026-07-30)
- e& (Emirates Telecommunications Group), e& Q2 2026 Results Presentation (2026-07-30)
- GSMA, The Mobile Economy Middle East and North Africa 2025 (2025-11)
- ITU, ITU DataHub: Population coverage, by mobile network technology (At least 5G) (2026-10)
- ITU, ITU DataHub: Individuals using the Internet (2026-10)
- ITU (2024: ITU Research; 2025: data supplied by TDRA; IMF exchange rate), ITU DataHub: Data-only mobile broadband basket 5 GB, in USD (i271mb_5GB$) (2025-10-23)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: Individuals who own a smart telephone (HH18) (2026-05-23)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: M2M mobile-network subscriptions (i271m2m) (2026-07-01)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: Average Download Throughput for Mobile Broadband (i146mwdl) (2026-07-01)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: Percentage of the population covered by at least a 5G mobile network (i271G5_pop) (2026-07-01)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: Mobile-broadband Internet traffic (within the country), exabytes (i136mwi) (2026-07-01)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA), ITU DataHub: Fixed-broadband Internet traffic, exabytes (i135tfb) (2026-07-01)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; converted with IMF exchange rate), ITU DataHub: Revenue from all telecommunication services (US$) (i75$) (2026-07-02)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; converted with IMF exchange rate), ITU DataHub: Revenue from mobile networks (2026-07-02)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; converted with IMF exchange rate), ITU DataHub: Annual investment in telecommunication services (2026-07-02)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; IMF exchange rate), ITU DataHub: Fixed-broadband Internet 5GB basket, USD (i154_FBB5$) (2025-10-23)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; World Bank GNI), ITU DataHub: Fixed-broadband Internet 5GB, as a % of GNI pc (i154_FBB5_GNI) (2025-10-23)
- ITU (data supplied by TDRA; World Bank GNI), ITU DataHub: Data-only mobile broadband basket 5 GB, as a % of GNI pc (i271mb_5GB_GNI) (2025-10-23)
- Kepios (DataReportal), Digital 2026: The United Arab Emirates (2025-11-05)
- Ookla, Speedtest Global Index: United Arab Emirates (2026-08)
- Ookla, Speedtest Global Index (city ranking, mobile, median) (2026-08)
- Statcounter, Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share United Arab Emirates (2026-10)
- Statcounter, Mobile Operating System Market Share United Arab Emirates (2026-10)
- Statcounter, Mobile Vendor Market Share United Arab Emirates (2026-10)
- Statcounter, Browser Market Share United Arab Emirates (2026-10)
- Statcounter, Search Engine Market Share United Arab Emirates (2026-10)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: Indicators of ICT Access and Use by Households & Individuals (2026-05-11)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: Indicators of ICT Infrastructure (2026-05-11)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: Total Number of .ae Domains (2026-05-11)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: ICT Access & Use by Gender (2026-09-10)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Active Mobile Subscriptions (2026-09-15)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Mobile Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (2026-09-15)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Post paid Subscriptions (2026-09-15)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Number of Fixed Lines (2026-09-15)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Pre-paid Subscriptions (2026-09-15)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Broadband Subscriptions (2026-09-23)
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), TDRA Open Data: monthly Phone and Internet Subscriptions series (xlsx, to June 2026) - Dial-up Subscriptions (2026-09-23)
- World Bank (ITU data), World Development Indicators: Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) (2026-10-08)
- World Bank (ITU data), World Development Indicators: Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) (2026-10-08)
