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Qatar's Internet penetration to rise sharply [Peninsula, The (Qatar)](Peninsula, The (Qatar) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BY SACHIN KUMAR DOHA: Qatar is likely to witness sharp rise in the Internet usage in the coming years, driven by increase in use of smartphones and tablet computers. The growth in the number of Internet users will be among the highest in the GCC, according to the Arab Economy Knowledge Report 2014. The number of users will jump to about 1.8 million in 2017 from about 1m in 2012, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent. Oman will see a growth of 12 percent. The Internet penetration in Qatar will be 67.27 percent in 2017 due to increase in the use of technology, compared to 55 percent in 2012, said the report. However, Saudi Arabia will have the largest number of Internet users in the GCC, with the number rising to 23m in 2017 from 15.8m in 2012, registering CAGR of eight percent. The UAE will witness a growth of 10 percent while Kuwait and Bahrain eight percent each. Bahrain will have Internet penetration of 87.4 percent in 2017 which will be the highest in the GCC. The number of users in the GCC will be about 40m in 2017, the report says. The number of Internet users in the Arab world or Middle East and North Africa region is expected to reach about 197m by 2017. Internet penetration rate will jump from about 32 percent in 2012 to over 51 percent in 2017, about 3 percent above the world average at that time, as the number of users is forecast to reach 3.6 billion, according to Cisco. The Peninsula (c) 2014 Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing & Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |