The United Arab Emirates has ranked first globally in customer satisfaction with digital government services and their usage, according to the 2026 Digital Government Customer Survey published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report surveyed 48,500 respondents across 44 countries, with 89 per cent of participants in the UAE giving the country’s digital government services a high rating.
The UAE also secured the top global ranking for digital government service usage, with a rate of 53 per cent. These results reflect the country’s continued progress in developing its government services, improving accessibility and efficiency, and delivering a high-quality customer experience.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the international survey had confirmed the UAE’s leading position in customer satisfaction with digital government services. He noted that, contrary to the prevailing international trend, more than 75 per cent of respondents believed UAE government services outperformed those provided by the private sector.
His Highness expressed pride in the teams responsible for improving public services and making people’s lives easier, highlighting the country’s commitment to delivering the best possible services to citizens, visitors and residents. He also announced that the UAE Government would unveil a major transformation in the design and delivery of its public services at a major event in November, marking a new phase in the country’s government service development journey.
The UAE’s strong performance reflects sustained efforts to transform public services around customer needs, adopt proactive and integrated government operating models, and invest in digital infrastructure, national talent and advanced technologies. These initiatives have strengthened the government’s readiness for the future while enabling it to respond more effectively to the evolving expectations of society.
His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the UAE’s global leadership in digital government service satisfaction reflected the vision of the country’s leadership to build a government centred on people. He emphasised that the results demonstrated the success of a government model that places quality of life and customer experience at the heart of service design and development.
Al Gergawi reaffirmed that the leadership’s vision was to make the UAE Government the world’s best in service delivery, efficiency and future readiness. He attributed the country’s achievements to continuous development, the redesign of services around people’s needs, and sustained investment in digital infrastructure, national capabilities and advanced technologies.
He added that the UAE was entering a new phase of government service development driven by artificial intelligence (AI). The objective, he explained, was to move beyond conventional digital services towards smarter, more proactive, accessible and faster solutions that anticipate customer needs and provide an integrated government experience characterised by the highest levels of efficiency and trust.
The report also found that 76 per cent of respondents in the UAE believed their experience with digital government services was better than their experience with private-sector services. Furthermore, 82 per cent of participants in the country reported using AI on a weekly basis, providing a strong foundation for developing a new generation of AI-powered government services.
Alongside these findings, the report highlighted the importance of strengthening responsible AI governance, developing technical and procedural safeguards, and raising public awareness of AI capabilities. It identified several priorities for maximising AI’s impact on government services, including service redesign, responsible adoption, the development of hybrid models, wider implementation of agentic AI applications, and improved AI literacy.
The findings reinforce the UAE’s position as a global leader in developing future-ready government services that harness technology and artificial intelligence to serve people and improve quality of life. By linking innovation with practical benefits for the public, the country continues to strengthen its international competitiveness and leadership in the design and delivery of government services.
