Twitter usage is booming in Saudi Arabia

We’ve had a good number of inquiries concerning our figures on active Twitter usage. Attention has been focused on the fact that Saudi Arabia is the country with the highest percentage of active Twitter users among its online population.

We know that Twitter is the world’s fastest-growing social platform, and since the release of our “Social Platforms Adoption” report featuring Q2 2012 data, it’s been clear that Saudi Arabia was the fastest-growing Twitter market in the world. According to our research, active Twitter users have grown by a staggering 56% from GWI.5 (Q2 2011) to GWI.7 (Q2 2012) in Saudi Arabia.

In 2012 (from GWI.7 to GWI.8) active Twitter usage in Saudi Arabia grew by a further 42% to hit the current level of 51% penetration.

One factor that’s likely to be driving this growth is the high levels of mobile internet usage. Sixty per cent of users in Saudi Arabia now access the internet by their mobile device. This is also the top global market in terms of time spent on mobile (stay tuned for our next report).

We are not alone in highlighting the growth of Twitter. Figures from the Dubai School of Government show that 29% of all the tweets coming from the Middle East come from Saudi Arabia.

The explosion in Twitter usage in the Middle East was really sparked by the Arab Spring and Twitter was an essential tool in helping activists organize the protests in 2011.

We’ll continue to monitor the growth in active usage across the region. For more information stay tuned to our blog and subscribe to our newsletter to ensure our content reaches you first.