6 October 2026
The UAE ranks first in the world for citizen satisfaction with government digital services: 89% of UAE respondents rate them highly, according to the 2026 Digital Government Citizen Survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The UAE is also first globally for usage of government digital services, at 53%, and 76% of UAE respondents say their latest online transaction with a government entity was a better experience than their typical interaction with a private company. BCG presented the regional findings on 6 October 2026 at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi, held at ADNEC Centre on 6 and 7 October.
What the BCG survey measured
The Digital Government Citizen Survey is a biennial BCG study of how people use and rate public services delivered online. The 2026 edition covers 44 countries and 48,500 respondents. The global report, titled “Citizens Are Open to Public AI Services. Governments Must Seize the Opportunity”, was released in Boston on 21 July 2026. According to BCG, the 44 countries represent 88% of OECD members and about 70% of the world population.
The regional report presented in Abu Dhabi is titled “After a Decade of Digital Gains, AI Is Reshaping Citizens’ Expectations in the GCC”. It is based on more than 1,500 respondents from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and was prepared by Rami Mourtada, Lars Littig, Akram Awad and Elisa Bollettino. BCG says that over the past decade service satisfaction has improved by 15% across all GCC geographies.
Key figures for the UAE
The UAE results stand out even within the GCC, which BCG already describes as the global leader in digital government:
| Indicator | Result |
|---|---|
| Satisfaction with government digital services, UAE | 89%, first of 44 countries |
| Usage of government digital services, UAE | 53%, first of 44 countries |
| Latest online government transaction better than a typical private sector one, UAE | 76% |
| Same indicator, Saudi Arabia and Qatar | 74% and 68% |
| Weekly use of AI, UAE | 82% |
| Weekly use of AI, all 44 countries | 64% |
| AI benefits in government outweigh the risks | UAE 53%, GCC 49%, world 36% |
Rami Mourtada, Partner and Director for Digital Transformation at BCG, said the result reflects years of investment in making public services more accessible, seamless and responsive to citizens’ needs. In his view, the next phase is about deploying AI where it creates clear value while keeping human expertise for more complex cases.
Government services versus the private sector
The GCC is the only region in the survey where a majority of citizens rate government digital services above those of private companies: 72% in 2026. The gap is narrowing, however. The net share of GCC respondents who rate government services higher fell from 75% in 2024 to 69% in 2026, as private sector apps and websites improve.
How residents see AI in public services
The report also looks at the next stage, AI-enabled government. The GCC is the most AI-receptive region in the survey: 79% of citizens are open to AI-centred government interactions, compared with 66% globally. Support for specific uses is high:
- 82% are comfortable with AI providing 24/7 access to information and services;
- 81% with AI supporting government customer service agents;
- 79% with AI detecting fraud and following up automatically;
- 78% with AI identifying the services a citizen qualifies for and taking action on their behalf.
Three of the four most supported uses are agentic, meaning AI that completes actions rather than only answering questions. At the same time, residents want a hybrid model. The preference for “AI for simple services, people for complex ones” rose 9 percentage points over two years to 50%. Only around 4% of GCC respondents want human-only services with no AI support, against almost one in ten globally.
Optimism has cooled as familiarity grows. The share of GCC respondents who believe the benefits of AI in government outweigh the risks dropped by 21 percentage points since 2024. Job loss, at about 33%, and accuracy of results, at about 28%, are the leading concerns. Respondents with expert AI skills are about four times more likely than those without AI experience to see more benefits than risks.
Six priorities BCG sets for GCC governments
BCG lists six actions: redesign core services end to end with AI instead of adding AI to old processes; learn from private sector innovation; embed responsible AI through governance, testing and safeguards; build the hybrid model citizens want; expand agentic services that complete whole journeys; and advance AI literacy among citizens.
What this means for companies and residents
A survey is not a change in rules, and no procedure changes because of it. It does describe the environment a company works in. In our practice, most of the steps a founder goes through in the UAE run online: free zone licence applications, visa and Emirates ID processing, renewals and amendments. UAE PASS, the national digital identity, is the usual login for these portals. If you are planning company setup in the UAE, expect most of the paperwork to move through government and free zone platforms rather than service counters.
A short checklist for working with UAE digital government:
- create a UAE PASS account as soon as you receive your Emirates ID and keep it verified;
- keep clear PDF scans of passports, visas, Emirates IDs, the trade licence and company documents in one folder;
- monitor the email address and mobile number registered with your licensing authority, as portal notices and payment links go there;
- know which authority issued your licence, a free zone or a mainland department, because each has its own portal;
- plan for a person to handle non-standard cases, which is exactly where residents still prefer human involvement.
For the full sequence of steps, from choosing a jurisdiction to opening a bank account, see our UAE company formation guide. Another recent international ranking: the Global Innovation Index 2026 placed the UAE 25th of 139 economies, its first entry into the top 25.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital handles UAE company formation, licensing, work visas and residency and corporate bank accounts for entrepreneurs who relocate or expand to the UAE. We work in the government and free zone portals on our clients’ behalf, prepare the documents in the format each authority accepts and track every application to completion.
Conclusion
The BCG survey puts the UAE first among 44 countries for both satisfaction with and usage of government digital services, at 89% and 53%. For companies, this confirms that most interactions with the state here are digital already. The next stage, according to BCG, is AI-enabled services with people kept in the loop for complex cases.
Source: TradeArabia, BCG.
FAQ
Which country ranks first for satisfaction with government digital services in 2026?
The UAE. In the BCG Digital Government Citizen Survey 2026, which covers 44 countries and 48,500 respondents, 89% of UAE respondents rate government digital services highly, the highest result in the survey. BCG presented the regional findings at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi on 6 October 2026.
How many UAE residents use government digital services?
According to BCG, usage of government digital services in the UAE stands at 53%, also the highest among the 44 countries surveyed. In addition, 76% of UAE respondents say their latest online government transaction was better than their typical interaction with a private company.
Do UAE residents support AI in government services?
Mostly yes, with conditions. 82% of UAE respondents use AI weekly and 53% believe its benefits in government outweigh the risks, against 36% globally. Across the GCC, 50% prefer AI for simple services and people for complex ones, and only about 4% want services with no AI at all.
Does the BCG ranking change any procedures for companies in the UAE?
No. The survey measures citizen opinion and does not change any law or procedure. In practice, most licensing, visa and Emirates ID steps in the UAE are already handled online, usually with UAE PASS as the login, so companies should keep their digital identity and documents ready.
