91% Of Emirati Adults Play Video Games!

Video games are not only popular among kids. Around the world, millions of adults play video games too, using gaming consoles, computers and – to an increasing extent – their mobile phones. Last but not least, gaming has been a popular past-time when the coronavirus pandemic increased time spent at home.

According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey, the United Arab Emirates was the country with the highest number of adult gamers in 2022. 91 percent of Emirati adults said they gamed at least occasionally, with many fans of mobile gaming among them. Smartphone gaming – a huge growth market – has won over people not previously invested in the activity by giving them easy access at low or no initial cost. This phenomenon has also been more pronounced in the developing world.

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As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz explains, countries in the developing world – aided by their younger demographics – produced more gamers. Nigeria and Indonesia as well as China and Egypt reported the highest numbers of adults saying they played video games in the survey of around 40 countries.

Saudi Arabia had an equally high number of gamers while also producing the highest number of frequent gamers (26 percent of adults). Japan, a country traditionally associated with video games, had one of the lowest engagement rates for gaming among adults.

In the U.S., the highest number of adults reported gaming on consoles instead of on computers and mobile phones. Consoles were also popular in Mexico and Latin America, while in European countries, computer gaming was more popular than consoles in many places.