UAE ranks first for AI maturity in Arab world, report says

Learning platform says Emirates' interest in education courses outpaces global average

Coursera said that the UAE's 'strong performance' and 'sharp rise' in AI course enrolments highlight its strategic push toward building a knowledge-based economy. Photo: Cody Combs

The UAE ranks first in the Arab world in a new AI Maturity Index that examines country readiness for artificial intelligence, according to a new report from online learning platform Coursera.

The 2025 Global Skills Report said the country's recent announcement of a UAE-US 5GW AI Campus - unveiled during US President Donald Trump’s visit in May, along with the decision by UAE schools to begin teaching mandatory AI classes from age four - helped propel it to to the top in various areas of the report.

“The UAE is rapidly scaling AI learning and infrastructure to drive workforce transformation and regional innovation,” said Kais Zribi, Coursera’s manager for Middle East and North Africa.

President Sheikh Mohamed with US President Donald Trump. The announcement of plans for a UAE-US AI Campus helped bolster the UAE's AI influence in a new report. Photo: G42

“Its strong performance on Coursera’s AI Maturity Index, combined with high rankings in overall skills proficiency, demonstrates the country’s growing ability to close skill gaps, nurture future talent, and lead in AI readiness.”

For AI maturity globally, the UAE ranked 32nd out of 109 countries, according to Coursera. Saudi Arabia ranked 37th place and Qatar placed 45th.

Singapore, Denmark, Switzerland, the US and Finland ranked in the top five.

In terms of overall AI skills proficiency, the UAE also ranked top in the Arab world.

Coursera’s report also said that with a 344 per cent increase in AI course enrolment compared to last year, the UAE outpaced the Middle East and North Africa regional average, as well as the global average AI courses selected on the company’s learning platform.

With hopes of diversifying its economy largely based on oil, in recent years the UAE ha sought to be a leader in artificial intelligence. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“As digital transformation reshapes industries, the UAE is setting a powerful example of how nations can leverage education to build a competitive, inclusive digital economy that prepares its workforce for the future,” said Mr Zribi.

Towards the end of last year, a similar report from Coursera projected that UAE interest in AI courses was on the path to grow significantly.

Coursera's data for its 2025 Global Skills Report is based in part on the company's stats from its learning platform, along with “third-party metrics to ensure a more comprehensive assessment, complementing the insights provided by Coursera data”.

For the AI Maturity Index, data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is used as well.

Over the past decade, the UAE − the Arab world’s second largest economy − has been open about its desire to be an AI front-runner as it diversifies its economy away from oil.

The country’s efforts have resulted in the establishment of start-ups as well as partnerships and investments from industry leaders like Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.

Through the creation of language models such as Falcon Arabic, the UAE has also sought to ensure aspects of Arabic culture are not left behind by the AI surge, with many large language models based on English-language data.

In 2019, the UAE announced the establishment of a university dedicated to AI, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. Several years before, the UAE was among the first in the world to appoint an AI Minister, Omar Al Olama.