UAE ranks first for AI talent density in Middle East: Report
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)The UAE has been ranked as the top country in the Middle East and 16th worldwide for AI talent density, according to the Global AI Competitiveness Index Report issued by the International Finance Forum (IFF).The report identified the UAE and Saudi Arabia (19th) as the primary drivers of AI development in the Middle East with global AI talent shares of 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.The world currently has about three million AI talents – of which technical research and development experts account for 32.6%, according to the study.About one-third of global AI talents are in the US, while China ranks second with a proportion of 24.4%.The report predicted that the world would see a growth of over 2.8 million people in global AI talent by 2030, marking a 100% increase in just five years.'AI talent may grow even faster in the coming years due to the high demand for talent by companies and research institutes,' it noted.The report also revealed that the industry has extremely high academic requirements, as over 88% of global AI talents hold a master's degree or higher.Moreover, 18.1% of individuals in the industry hold a doctoral degree; 1.4% have postdoctoral work experience; and 10.3% have a bachelor's degree.More than 34% of AI talents majored in computer science, and over 10% of them graduated in information technology, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and information systems.According to Coursera's 2025 Global Skills Report, issued in June, the UAE is positioning itself for a tech-driven future, with 87% of employers prioritising technological literacy, AI, and big data.The report also revealed that 13% of the UAE's labour force is actively training on Coursera, with GenAI enrolments surging 344% year over year, outpacing regional averages.The UAE's leadership is investing heavily in AI human capital as a cornerstone of its future knowledge-based economy.Earlier this year, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced that AI would be introduced as a subject across all stages of government education in the UAE, starting the next academic year.In 2024, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, launched the 'One Million Prompters' initiative, aiming to upskill one million people in prompt engineering over the next three years.Flagship institutions like the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) are also playing pivotal roles in cultivating the next generation of AI talent.
According to PwC, AI is expected to add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with $96 billion of that impact in the UAE alone.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Emirates 24/7
2 hours ago
- Emirates 24/7
Mohammed bin Rashid: UAE non-oil foreign trade exceeded AED1.7 trillion in H1 2025
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has continued on its path to become a major trading nation, a reliable trading partner for the world's largest economies and a gateway to facilitate trade flows around the world. In a tweet on the "X" platform, His Highness said, "Today, I reviewed our non-oil foreign trade data for the first half of 2025. In the first six months of this year, we achieved more than AED1.7 trillion, with a record growth of 24% compared to the first half of 2024, which itself was an exceptional year for our national economy. We recorded double what we achieved in the first half of 2021 and continued the unprecedented boom in our trade with historic growth rates of 59.5% and 37.8% compared to the first half of 2022 and 2023, respectively.' His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added, 'In September 2021, we launched the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) programme to expand our network of trading partners around the world. Our non-oil foreign trade continues to reap the benefits of this programme, under which we have concluded 28 agreements to date, 10 of which have entered into force. This means we can offer unhindered customs access to markets where nearly 3 billion consumers live.' His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the UAE's non-oil exports, which increased their contribution to total non-oil foreign trade to 21.4% for the first time in the country's history, compared to 18.4% in the first half of 2024. The UAE's non-oil foreign trade for the period from January 1 to June 30 2025 showed the continuation of its upward trajectory, recording about AED1.728 trillion (equivalent to USD$470.3 billion), with a growth of 24% year-on-year, compared to the first half of 2024, and growth on a semi-annual basis of 9.1% compared to the second half of 2024. The UAE's non-oil foreign trade continued to achieve record and unprecedented growth rates, recording an increase of 37.8% and 59.5% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2023 and 2022 respectively. Trade output is double the figure achieved in the first half of 2021 and was more than double the figure recorded in the first half of 2019. The UAE's non-oil exports reached AED369.5 billion during the first half of 2025, with a growth rate of more than 44.7% – for the first time in the country's history –, as well as a growth rate of 80% when compared to the first half of 2023. This level is more than double the value of non-oil exports during 2022, more than double 2021's level and 3 times larger than in 2020 and 2019. Non-oil exports increased during the first half of 2025 at a record rate of 210.3% compared to the same period in 2019. Non-oil exports were the best performers among the UAE's foreign trade during the first half of 2025, contributing 21.4% of the UAE's total non-oil trade. This was higher than the contribution in the first half of 2024 and 2023, where it was 18.4% and 16.4%, respectively. The most important destinations for the UAE's non-oil exports during the first half of 2025 were Switzerland, followed by India second, Turkey third, and Hong Kong-China fourth. Thailand, Switzerland and India recorded the highest growth rates among the recipient markets for UAE exports. Among the top 10 recipients of the UAE's non-oil exports, CEPA partners amounted to AED85.02 billion, with a growth of 62.8% and a 23% share of the UAE's non-oil exports. India received a value of AED51.45 billion, a growth of 97.6% compared to 2024 for the same period, followed by Turkey with a value of AED27.2 billion and a growth of 24.1%. Exports to these ten countries with which CEPAs came into force increased 3 times compared to the exports recorded in 2022 and 2021 and exceeded 4 times the exports in 2019. The value of re-exports also continued its upward trajectory, reaching AED389 billion during the first half of 2025, with a growth of 14%, 15.8% and 25.4% compared to the same periods in 2024, 2023 and 2022. respectively. The re-exports of the top 10 partner nations recorded a growth of 16.5%. Re-exports of the rest of the world recorded a growth of 12% compared with the first half of 2024. The UAE's imports of non-oil goods amounted to AED969.3 billion during the first half of 2025, a growth rate of 22.5% compared to the same period in 2024, while the UAE's imports from the top 10 trading partners increased by 20.8% and with the rest of the world by 24.3%. The UAE's non-oil trade with the country's top 10 trading partners around the world continued its upward trajectory in the first half of 2025 with a growth of 25.5% and an increase of 23.6% with the rest of the countries. Trade with India increased by 33.9%, with China by 15.6%, with Switzerland by 120%, and with Saudi Arabia by 21.3% compared to the same period in 2024. Trade with Turkey also saw a 41.4% rise, while the UAE's non-oil trade with the United States of America witnessed a growth of 29% and ranked sixth among the country's top 10 trading partners around the world. France also entered the top 10 list in the first half of 2025.
Channel Post MEA
2 hours ago
- Channel Post MEA
UAE Tech Leaders View Cloud & GenAI Transformation As Top Business Priorities: Coursera-AWS Report
A majority of UAE technology leaders identify cloud (93%) and Generative AI (GenAI) (89%) transformation as top business priorities over the next three years, recognizing both as foundational to future growth. That's according to new research from leading global online learning platform Coursera, developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Titled From Cloud to AI: How Tech Leaders are Investing in Skills Development to Drive Transformation, the report offers key insights into how organizations and their senior technology leaders are strategically addressing skills gaps to meet their digital transformation goals. Core findings show that UAE tech leaders view keeping pace with technology (61%) and staying ahead of security threats (60%) as the most critically important drivers of skills development. Optimizing cloud spend (59%) and managing complex infrastructures (52%) were also cited as major concerns, underscoring the urgent need for a skilled workforce. Kais Zribi, Coursera's General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, said: 'While automation is vital to transforming teams, workflows, and business operations, the UAE data reveal that strategic investments in human capital through upskilling and reskilling will be crucial to driving innovation. As organizations look to fully harness the potential of cloud and AI, investing equally in technology and people will be foundational to building a future-ready workforce. 'This report delivers a clear mandate for technology leaders: investing in skills development must be a cornerstone of every transformation strategy.' The report also highlights that 95% of tech leaders worldwide view cloud transformation as a key business goal. Globally, foundational skills are prioritized, with 63% ranking cloud skills, such as cloud development and engineering, as the most critical, followed by data (58%) and cybersecurity (54%). AI skills rank fourth, with 47% identifying them as important over the next three years. Globally, tech leaders report clear benefits from investing in skills development, including enhanced performance and productivity (72%), greater workforce agility (67%), and improved talent mobility (58%). More than half (52%) of global tech leaders expect 30-50% of tasks to be automated. Nearly all (99%) anticipate their codebases will be partially AI-generated or developed with AI assistance in the next three years, with 86% expecting 20-50% of their codebase to involve AI in its creation. Yet, 88% believe human contributions remain irreplaceable, emphasizing that AI success depends on greater investment in talent development. In fact, 77% of leaders globally recognize that upskilling existing employees will be essential to achieving transformation goals within the next 12 to 18 months. The global study was conducted across the US, the UK, India, the UAE, France, and Mexico between March and April 2025. It captures insights from more than 750 technology leaders responsible for large-scale digital transformation initiatives at organizations with over 1,000 employees and average annual revenues exceeding US$100 million (with UAE-based companies averaging US$21.6 billion).
ARN News Center
4 hours ago
- ARN News Center
UAE non-oil foreign trade marks 24% growth in H1: Sheikh Mohammed
UAE's non-oil foreign trade has achieved significant 24 per cent growth during the first half of 2025, announced His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In a post on social media platform X, Sheikh Mohammed said "non-oil foreign trade reached AED 1.7 trillion in the first half (double the figures from just five years ago)". "Our non-oil trade with our international partners surged at a record rate in the first half of 2025, reaching 120 per cent with Switzerland, 33 per cent with India, 41 per cent with Turkey, 29 per cent with the United States, and 15 per cent with China," he highlighted. Sheikh Mohammed added that the the "numbers speak of our economic relations with the world". "The numbers speak of unprecedented development for the UAE, led by my brother (UAE President His Highness) Mohammed bin Zayed. "The numbers say that the future will be more beautiful and greater." Today, I reviewed the data for the first half of this year regarding the UAE's non-oil foreign trade. It achieved significant growth of 24% compared to the first half of the previous year, while the average growth of global trade was only about 1.75%. Our non-oil foreign trade… — HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 30, 2025
