The United Arab Emirates has claimed the top spot in three key global indices for telecommunications and digital government, according to the latest State of Digital Transformation Report.

Released by the UAE’s Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation during the Digital Readiness Retreat, the report underscores the country’s global leadership in digital competitiveness.

The UAE ranked first globally in the UN indices for telecommunications infrastructure, digital government framework, and digital content, and also topped the Digital Knowledge Index.

Minister Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Chair of the Committee, said the nation’s digital drive reflects a vision to cut bureaucracy and improve quality of life through technology.

In addition to its top rankings, the UAE also led the Government AI Readiness Index 2024 by Oxford Insights, placed third globally for government service delivery, and ranked fourth in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index. It was 11th in both the IMD Digital Competitiveness Index and the UN’s E-Government Development Index.

Digital transformation has yielded substantial economic and environmental returns. The report notes $100.2 billion in user savings, $5.4 billion in reduced government costs, and 530 million labor hours saved. It also cut carbon emissions by 55.8 million tonnes.

Covering 12 key sectors — including health, education, finance, immigration, and energy — the report highlights widespread digital adoption. In 2024, federal entities processed 173.7 million digital transactions, government websites recorded 131.5 million visits, and apps were downloaded 26.3 million times.

The government now offers 1,419 digital services, including 195 priority services, achieving a 91% satisfaction rate and reaching over 57 million users.

Currently, there are 460 active digital transformation projects across federal agencies. The UAE Pass digital identity platform supports 10.8 million users and enables 2.6 billion transactions across 15,000 services.

The report showcases digital strides across key sectors. In the economic sector, 5.2 million tax transactions, over 316,000 certificates of origin, and 64,100 trademark filings were completed online.

The finance sector saw 8,300 vendor registrations and thousands of market accreditations, while labour platforms handled 13.2 million work permits and 8 million employment contracts. Healthcare logged 2 million robotic prescriptions, 1 million AI-based X-rays, and 437,000 remote consultations. Education reached 1.4 million learners and processed 445,700 course registrations.