More than 100 million people connect, discover and share on Facebook on mobile across the MENA region

Facebook in the Middle East and North Africa announced today that as of September 30, 2015, Facebook had 114 million monthly active users in the region. Of those, 102 million access the site through mobile devices. Across MENA almost 60% of people come back to Facebook every day and almost 90% do so on mobile. The ability to connect, discover and share on Facebook has made it the platform of choice for people across the MENA region.

Every day around the world, more than 8 billion daily video views are generated on Facebook, and more than 500M people watch videos daily.

As video use increases, Facebook recently launched Slideshow, a new lightweight video ad made from a series of still images, which is easy for advertisers to use and is engaging for people. Formats like this will be particularly beneficial in countries in the MENA region which have varying connectivity speeds and limited access to modern video technology.

Recognising the adoption of Facebook and the growth of original creative content amongst users in the  MENA region,  Nicola Mendohlson, Vice President EMEA and the company’s EMEA leadership team hosted local and international brands at an event titled ‘Video Unplugged’ in Dubai.’ 

Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President, EMEA at Facebook, said: “People in the MENA region are unique – the shift to mobile has happened here and the shift to visual communications is well on its way. People across the Middle East and North Africa are quick to adopt new trends and content formats, use Facebook to discover new things, and share stories which get amplified across the region and beyond, to the Arabic diaspora around the world.”

“The MENA region loves video, and while the rest of the world are adopting visual content, people here are leading the way which is indicative of the creativity flowing in this region. It is inspiring to see a large number of content creators, entrepreneurs and established brands choosing Facebook to tell stories creatively, particularly through video, setting benchmarks for the rest of the world,” she continued. 

Jonathan Labin, Head of Facebook MENA, said: “Mobile continues to grow as the medium of choice for Facebook users around the MENA region. The ability to share moments creatively on-the-go, is inspiring engagement and conversations online. Storytelling is at the heart of conversations in this region and being able to speak through video opens up a whole new world of engagement for our users and brands.” 

Facebook users around the world are choosing to engage on mobile and with video. The availability of larger screen mobile devices is creating a more immersive and compelling canvas for visual content. Today 75% of video views of users around the world are on mobile. In the UAE, 50% of daily Facebook users watch at least one video a day.

Facebook and Instagram, together have the highest reach than any other platform on mobile in the UAE at 76% and in KSA at 71%[ii]. The total daily time spent[iii] on mobile in the UAE (55%) and KSA (38%) continues to be dominated by Facebook.  Facebook continues to test new services for users across the world. The availability of other popular mobile services from Facebook, including Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram, gives users more ways to connect with the world. 

Globally, half the world’s online population is on Facebook at 1.55 billion monthly active users. Around the world, more than 1.39 billion people use Facebook on mobile, including more than 1 billion on Android devices.