United Arab Emirates is home to 10M people with 96% smartphone penetration and an app market worth $2B. With Arabic as the primary language and +9.8% YoY year-over-year growth, it represents a significant opportunity for app developers. AppDrift provides full Arabic localization support to help you capture this market.
Market Overview
Population
10M
Smartphone Penetration
96%
App Market Revenue
$2B
Market Growth
+9.8% YoY
Internet Users
10M
Dominant Store
Both roughly equal
AppDrift supports United Arab Emirates with full Arabic localization
Language & Locale
Primary Language
Arabic
Locale Code
ar-AE
Keyword Language
Arabic and English
Additional Languages
To reach United Arab Emirates's users effectively, your app metadata should be professionally localized in Arabic. AppDrift's AI-powered translation and cultural adaptation tools ensure your titles, descriptions, and keywords resonate with local users while maintaining ASO best practices.
Top Categories
1
Finance
2
Shopping
3
Entertainment
4
Travel
5
Food & Drink
Understanding which categories dominate in United Arab Emirates helps you position your app effectively. Use AppDrift's AI metadata generation to create keyword-optimized listings tailored to United Arab Emirates's most competitive categories.
ASO Tips
Bilingual Arabic-English metadata is ideal — UAE’s expat majority often searches in English
Luxury and premium positioning resonates — UAE users have among the highest spending per capita
Ensure compliance with UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) guidelines for app content
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Cultural Insights
The UAE is a cosmopolitan, multilingual market with a large expat population (nearly 90%). Users expect premium experiences and are willing to pay for quality. Both Arabic and English content are essential to reach the full market.
Adapting your app's visuals is just as important as localizing text. AppDrift's screenshot generator lets you create culturally relevant app store screenshots with localized text overlays for United Arab Emirates's audience.
Competition
United Arab Emirates has a moderately competitive app market. While there is meaningful competition in popular categories, well-optimized listings with proper localization can still achieve strong visibility. Strategic keyword targeting and consistent metadata optimization will give you an edge over competitors who neglect ASO.
Get a competitive advantage in United Arab Emirates with AppDrift's full ASO platform — from AI-powered metadata to automated store publishing, everything you need to outrank competitors.
How AppDrift Helps
UAE’s multilingual population requires both Arabic and English metadata — dual-language optimization captures expats and locals alike.
Translate your app metadata to Arabic with AI-powered cultural adaptation.
Generate ASO-optimized metadata for United Arab Emirates's market in Arabic.
Create localized screenshots for United Arab Emirates with Arabic text overlays.
Deploy to United Arab Emirates with one click via Both roughly equal.
Track keyword rankings in United Arab Emirates with daily updates.
FAQ
The primary language for ASO in United Arab Emirates is Arabic (locale: ar-AE). You should also consider localizing for English, Hindi, Urdu to reach broader audiences. Keywords should be researched in Arabic and English to match local search behavior. AppDrift's AI translation tools can help you localize metadata across all relevant languages.
In United Arab Emirates, both the App Store and Google Play have significant market share. You should optimize your listings for both platforms to maximize reach. AppDrift supports metadata optimization and publishing for both stores.
The five most popular app categories in United Arab Emirates are Finance, Shopping, Entertainment, Travel, Food & Drink. Understanding category trends helps you position your app metadata and screenshots to appeal to local user preferences. AppDrift's metadata generation uses local market data to optimize your listings for these high-demand categories.
United Arab Emirates has a medium level of competition in the app stores. With the right ASO strategy and proper localization, there are strong opportunities to gain visibility and grow your user base.
AppDrift provides a complete ASO toolkit for United Arab Emirates: AI-powered metadata translation to Arabic with cultural adaptation, automated metadata generation optimized for local keywords, a free screenshot generator for creating localized visuals, and one-click store publishing to deploy across United Arab Emirates's app stores. Start with a free account to access the screenshot generator and basic features.
Join thousands of apps reaching United Arab Emirates's 10M smartphone users.