Digital advertising in the Middle East and North Africa - statistics & facts

Digital advertising has grown to become one of the most important forms of marketing worldwide. With exceedingly widespread digital content, and high internet penetration rates across the world, digital advertising has become an essential channel through which marketers promote their businesses. In 2021, more than half of all global ad investments were devoted to digital promotion, while television received less than a quarter of total advertising expenditure that year. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is no exception to the growing investment in digital ads. In 2020, internet ad spend in MENA amounted to around 4.4 billion U.S. dollars and it is expected to increase to 7.9 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.

Overview of MENA market

   Not surprisingly, the MENA region is demonstrating a similar trend to the global one. By 2024, internet ad expenditure was forecasted to increase by 20 percent, while newspaper ad spend was expected to decline by around 13 percent. The digital advertising has become one of the most competitive industries in the MENA region with huge potential for growth with regards to ad spend. In 2021, the UAE was ranked the fourth most attractive country for digital agency professionals worldwide. In line with consumer trends for the region which has a traditionally strong social user base, social channels accounted for more than half of the total digital ad spend, surpassing global benchmarks. Despite the region’s classification as an emerging digital ad market with regards to international ad spend per capita, its focus on growth areas of video and social show that it is ahead of formal adoption when compared with more mature markets.  

Mobile advertising 

   With a young population and soaring smartphone penetration, an ever-growing share of internet traffic is generated through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Thus, marketing experts are emphasizing mobile marketing initiatives as an essential tool in their strategies. With the number of mobile internet users in MENA forecasted to reach around 357 million by 2025, the market is growing exponentially fast when it comes to mobile advertising. As a result, the “mobile-first” strategy in which marketing aims at designing and developing an online experience for mobile before designing for the desktop web or any other device has been picked up in recent years. In a survey conducted in 2020, the majority of responding marketers from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) agreed or strongly agreed that they adopted a “mobile-first" strategy..
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 27, 2024

Key insights

Forecasted growth of outdoor advertising spending in MENA by 2024
9.2%
Forecasted value of radio advertisement expenditure in MENA by 2024
232m USD
Forecasted growth in television advertisement expenditure in MENA by 2024
1.8%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Advertising spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from 2005 to 2024 (in million U.S dollars)

Advertising

MENA advertising spending 2005-2024

Value of internet advertisement expenditure in the Middle East and North Africa from 2010 to 2024 (in million U.S. dollars)

Traditional advertising

Internet advertisement expenditure in MENA 2010-2024

Growth of advertising spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from 2010 to 2024, by medium

Traditional advertising

Growth of advertising spending in MENA 2010-2024, by medium

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Digital Audio Advertising: market data & analysis
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