UAE ranks No. 1 globally for satisfaction with digital government services

The UAE has ranked first globally in citizen satisfaction with digital government services, according to the 2026 Citizen Survey on Digital Government by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), with 89 per cent of respondents giving the UAE a high rating.

The report was launched on the first day of AI Everything Abu Dhabi under the title, “After a Decade of Digital Gains, AI Is Reshaping Citizen Expectations Across the GCC.”

The findings underscore the strength of the UAE’s digital government experience and provide a solid foundation for the next generation of AI-powered public services, according to the report.

The survey, which covered 44 countries, found that the UAE ranked first in the use of digital government services, with 53 per cent of respondents reporting that they use such services.

Meanwhile, 76 per cent of respondents in the UAE said their most recent digital government transaction provided them with a better experience than they typically receive when dealing with private-sector organisations.

This strong digital foundation is increasingly extending to the adoption of artificial intelligence. Eighty-two per cent of respondents in the UAE said they use AI on a weekly basis, while 53 per cent believe that the benefits of deploying AI in government outweigh the risks. This compares with 49 per cent across the GCC and 36 per cent globally.

At the GCC level, the report found strong demand for the next generation of AI-powered government services. The region is the world’s most receptive to AI, with 79 per cent of citizens expressing openness to interacting with AI-enabled government services, compared with 66 per cent globally.

According to the report, three of the four government AI applications receiving the highest levels of support involve AI-agent use cases, representing a promising starting point for governments.

Half of respondents across the GCC said they prefer AI for simple services and human involvement for more complex services.

Dr Lars Littig, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group, said GCC countries have a major opportunity to translate their digital leadership into the next generation of AI-powered government services.

“As citizens become increasingly familiar with AI, strengthening AI literacy and building trust will be critical to sustaining its adoption,” he said.

“The opportunity lies in advancing AI in ways that reflect how citizens want to interact, expanding automation and AI-agent capabilities where they deliver value, while retaining human judgement and embedding responsible safeguards where they are most needed.”