UAE ranks first globally in the GEM 2025-2026 global report for the fifth consecutive year

Achievement reflects the successful integration of competitive policies, legislation, and initiatives aimed at creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has maintained its global leadership in promoting entrepreneurship, ranking first in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for the fifth consecutive year. The UAE outperformed many advanced economies in the report’s 2025–2026 edition, reaffirming its position as the best environment globally for starting and operating new businesses.

The UAE ranked first among high‑income economies across eight indicators studied by the report: Physical Infrastructure, Government Policy: Support and Relevance, Government Policy: Taxes and Bureaucracy, Government Entrepreneurial Programmes, Research and Development Transfers, Ease of Entry: Market Dynamics, Ease of Entry: Burdens and Regulation, and Entrepreneurial Education. These results reflect the integration and advancement of the country’s supportive environment for entrepreneurship, encouraging the establishment of entrepreneurial ventures and startups across diverse sectors.

Additionally, the UAE ranked second globally in the Entrepreneurial Finance indicator and Ease of Access to Entrepreneurial Finance, underscoring the strength of its financial ecosystem and its ability to support entrepreneurs, as well as the readiness of the national economic environment to enable startups and enhance their growth and expansion opportunities. The UAE is also one of only four countries that have succeeded in reaching or exceeding sufficiency across all entrepreneurial framework conditions, maintaining one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial ecosystems, supported by infrastructure, government policies, and digital readiness.

H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, said: “We are proud that the UAE has ranked first globally in developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem for the fifth consecutive year. This achievement underscores its position as one of the most supportive economies for entrepreneurship and a leading destination for establishing businesses and commercial ventures. It reflects the vision of our wise leadership, which has prioritised entrepreneurship and SME support as a key pillar in building a competitive, knowledge-based economy driven by innovation and excellence. It further highlights the resilience of the UAE economy and its ability to adapt to various regional and global shifts.”

His Excellency added that these results reflect the strength and integration of the UAE’s competitive policies, legislation, and initiatives aimed at creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship. Among them is the success of the recently launched national campaign, “The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World,” which embodies the country’s vision to become the leading destination for global talent, innovators, and entrepreneurs, contributing to the development of a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem.

He explained that these outcomes align with the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, which aims to solidify the country’s position as a global hub for the new economy by supporting high-potential sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, space, and financial technology.

In detail, the UAE recorded strong global performance in the quality of its entrepreneurial environment, with a National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI) score of 7.0 in 2025, which measures the supportive climate for entrepreneurship in each country based on expert assessments. This reflects the robustness of the UAE’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and the high confidence of business owners and investors in the integration of its components and its role in strengthening the country’s position as a global hub for entrepreneurial ventures and startups.

In addition, the UAE is among the six countries where entrepreneurs unanimously agree on the critical importance of artificial intelligence over the next three years. It indicates the country’s readiness to transition toward an advanced digital economy based on knowledge and innovation.

The UAE, along with Taiwan, Norway, and Sweden, received an “Excellent” rating in the Sustainability Priorities Index and AI Awareness Index, reflecting the balance between innovation and sustainability within the business environment.

The UAE also delivered outstanding performance in the international access index, ranking among the top five countries globally in terms of startups’ ability to access external markets. This achievement is directly underpinned by the country’s advanced infrastructure and logistics ecosystem, which the report described as remarkable in connecting local entrepreneurs with global consumers.

The report further highlights that the UAE has successfully developed an entrepreneurial environment marked by continuity and growth. Entrepreneurial activity levels remain high, with more than one in five adults (over 20 per cent) engaged in entrepreneurship, reflecting the strength of incentives and enablers supporting startups. The Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate also remained high at 19.2 per cent. Additionally, the report notes that the prevalence of entrepreneurial ventures is the result of an enabling ecosystem that positions entrepreneurship as an attractive career path, driven by streamlined procedures and access to government and financial support.

The report further underscores the UAE’s strong attractiveness to talent, with entrepreneurial activity levels reaching 19.6 per cent among nationals and 22.4 per cent among residents. This reflects the UAE’s ability to attract skilled talent and enhance the participation of all segments of society in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the report shows that the UAE boasts an integrated entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports women entrepreneurs and enhances their access to resources and capabilities.

According to the report, more than half of entrepreneurs consider family traditions a key motivation for establishing and growing their businesses, reflecting the depth of entrepreneurial culture in UAE society. The country also achieved remarkable progress in the ‘Entrepreneurship Education at School’ index, ranking among the top five globally, with a clear focus on developing students’ creative thinking, problem-solving, risk assessment, and opportunity recognition. This contributes to preparing a future-ready generation of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship in the UAE is supported by a flexible and advanced financing environment that provides entrepreneurs with broad access to the capital required to launch and scale their projects, the report notes. The strength of this ecosystem is reflected in the diversity of available funding sources, including government initiatives, investment funds, and venture capital. This support enhances entrepreneurs’ confidence and enables them to transform ideas into scalable and practical ventures, reinforcing the dynamism of the business environment.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report is recognised as one of the world’s leading references for measuring and analysing entrepreneurial activity. It is based on a large database comprising more than two million cumulative interviews conducted since its inception. The current edition draws on data from 53 economies, representing around 43 per cent of the world’s population and 57 per cent of global GDP. The report includes insights from over 160,000 participants in the Adult Population Survey (APS), more than 2,000 national experts, and 370 technical experts and researchers, based on a rigorous scientific methodology and a comprehensive global comparison.