Public First:Google drove an estimated SAR 12.2 billion to Saudi Economy in 2021

Gulftech Riyadh: Google announced today the launch of the Google Impact Report, a report conducted by Public First research agency, that looks at how Google products (Search, Play, Maps, YouTube and Google Ads) help people, local businesses, content creators and developers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. Around the world, Google releases Impact Reports which are based on public polling, economic modeling and third party data. The report estimates that Google drove SAR 12.2 billion in economic activity in Saudi Arabia in 2021.

Commenting on the report, Anthony Nakache, Managing Director for Google in the Middle East & North Africa, said: “It’s great to see the positive impact Google products like Search, YouTube, Maps and Android have on the daily lives of Saudi people, local business owners, developers and content creators. Saudi Arabia is young, smart and digital, and we’re proud to be an engine of growth in the country and an enabler in its digital transformation journey. We’re excited to see what great things people can do there given the right tools and skills and we are committed to doing more through programs and local partnerships”.

“In the last couple of years, Covid-19 has helped accelerate some pre-existing trends such as the rise of e-commerce, the shift towards remote working and the use of online tools to support lifelong learning. In our research, people and businesses across the Middle East told us how important Google’s tools and services had been in enabling them to adapt to these changes: helping small businesses start to sell online, supporting workers to collaborate better online and children to keep learning,” said Jonathan Dupont, Partner at Public First.

The Google Impact Report in Saudi Arabia explores the impact of Google’s products in 2021 across three areas: People, Businesses and Economy. Below are the key findings:

Helping people in Saudi Arabia
72% of people used Google Search to find the latest Covid-19 public health information
64% of parents (with children under the age of 12) used YouTube Kids to support their children’s learning
75% used Google Search to learn a new skill last year
61% of people in Saudi Arabia used Google Search to find a new job opportunity and an average of 5 million women use Google Search every month to look for a new job

Helping businesses in Saudi Arabia
66% of people used Google Maps to find a local business
52% of businesses reported an increase of customers coming from online search or search advertising in the last two years
67% of online businesses said that Google Workspace was essential in enabling remote working (Google Workspace is a collection of cloud computing and collaboration tools like Google Drive, Gmail and Meet)

Driving economic activity Saudi Arabia
This section of the report combines Public First research and Google internal data and estimates Google’s contribution to creators, developers and publishers.
Google drove an estimated SAR 12.2 billion to the economy in Saudi Arabia in 2021
Every year, the Android Developer ecosystem supports at least 29,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia
YouTube channels making 6 figures or more in revenue are up by 20% year over year [Google Internal Data – 2021]
The total number of developers making over 37,500 SAR (USD 10,000) per month or more on Play grew by 15% [Google Internal Data – 2021]

In October 2020, Google announced a $13 million USD fund to help one million people and businesses in the Middle East and North Africa learn advanced digital skills and grow their businesses by the end of 2021. The program aims to accelerate the MENA region’s economic recovery through digital transformation, by offering digital tools, training and financial grants to support local businesses and job seekers.

The Google Impact Reports can be found below:
UAE: googlemena.publicfirst.co/uae
Saudi Arabia: googlemena.publicfirst.co/saudiarabia
Egypt: googlemena.publicfirst.co/egypt