In contrast to 2011, the majority of internet users spend their time on mobile devices instead of a desktop. As of 2019, worldwide per capita usage of mobile internet was 132 minutes, compared to 49 minutes on a desktop. During the same time period, the per capital usage of the internet in the Middle East and North Africa was about 175 minutes per day on a desktop. On average Egyptians spent 490 minutes daily in the internet, compared to 496 in the United Arab Emirates and 405 minutes in Saudi Arabia. Except for South America, men tend to spend more time online than women. The Arab states comply with the global norm, where the internet user rate for men is 48 percent and 39.4 percent for women.
The leading method of accessing the internet in the Middle East and North Africa is through mobile devices. As we can see from the example of Saudi Arabia, the penetration rate of mobile internet in Saudi households is about 91 percent compared to 26.2 percent of Saudi households with a fixed broadband subscription.
Share of mobile internet users per population across the United Arab Emirates was 96 percent, compared to 88 percent in Saudi Arabia. The Rate for Egypt for the same time period was 47 percent.
