Changes

==General Findings==

==General Findings==

* Across the region as a whole, 31% of users spend 3 hours or fewer per day online, but in some countries, people said they are online for more than 10 hours per day. Pakistan had the lowest median hours per day at 3 hours; Qatar and UAE had the highest, at 10 hours.

* Across the region as a whole, 31% of users spend 3 hours or fewer per day online, but in some countries, people said they are online for more than 10 hours per day. Pakistan had the lowest median hours per day at 3 hours; Qatar and UAE had the highest, at 10 hours.

* Users have a strong preference for websites using local languages such as Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu when interacting with friends and government online, but English dominates the language of web content, with 71% of sites associated with the region (compared to 55% of global sites).<ref name="study"></ref>

* Users have a strong preference for websites using local languages such as Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu when interacting with friends and government online, but English dominates the language of web content, with 71% of sites associated with the region (compared to 55% of global sites). They also prefer to purchase from local registrars over foreign ones.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Social media is on the uptake in the region, perhaps because difficulties in domain name registration make social media a faster channel to get online. According to the 2014 Arab Social Media Report, there are 81 million Facebook users and 6 million Twitter users in the Arab world, and use of social media is growing rapidly.<ref name="arabsocialmedia">[http://www.mbrsg.ae/HOME/PUBLICATIONS/Research-Report-Research-Paper-White-Paper/Citizen-Engagement-and-Public-Services-in-the-Arab.aspx The Arab Social Media Report- Edition #6], MBRSG.ae. Published 2014 June. Retrieved 2015 November 7.</ref>

* Social media is on the uptake in the region, perhaps because difficulties in domain name registration make social media a faster channel to get online. According to the 2014 Arab Social Media Report, there are 81 million Facebook users and 6 million Twitter users in the Arab world, and use of social media is growing rapidly.<ref name="arabsocialmedia">[http://www.mbrsg.ae/HOME/PUBLICATIONS/Research-Report-Research-Paper-White-Paper/Citizen-Engagement-and-Public-Services-in-the-Arab.aspx The Arab Social Media Report- Edition #6], MBRSG.ae. Published 2014 June. Retrieved 2015 November 7.</ref>

* 63% of users surveyed tended to use the Internet for social reasons, rather than for business reasons, which only accounted for 37% of those polled.<ref name="study"></ref>

* 63% of users surveyed tended to use the Internet for social reasons, rather than for business reasons, which only accounted for 37% of those polled.<ref name="study"></ref>

* There are 21,000 [[IDN]]s in the region, half of which are under [[.tr]] and half which are Arabic script -- but in general, uptake of IDNs is hampered by lack of universal acceptance.<ref name="study"></ref>

* There are 21,000 [[IDN]]s in the region, half of which are under [[.tr]] and half which are Arabic script -- but in general, uptake of IDNs is hampered by lack of universal acceptance.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Hosting markets are strongly linked to domain name registration, and hosting across the region is weak, with the exception of Iran and Turkey. Only 5% of popular web content is hosted in the region, and many countries have strict legislation affecting internet content.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Hosting markets are strongly linked to domain name registration, and hosting across the region is weak, with the exception of Iran and Turkey. Only 5% of popular web content is hosted in the region, and many countries have strict legislation affecting internet content.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most international registrars who have modern platforms for end-users are not present in the region and are discouraged from involvement due to administrative barriers to registering domain names in the region, such as manual procedures or pre-registration checks.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most international registrars who have modern platforms for end-users are not present in the region and are discouraged from involvement due to administrative barriers to registering domain names in the region, such as manual procedures or pre-registration checks, which make changes difficult and are not equipped to meet high industry demands.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most [[ccTLD]]s in the region are confined to their territory and have strict policies for registrar accreditation and domain name registration, which may limit growth.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most [[ccTLD]]s in the region are confined to their territory and have strict policies for registrar accreditation and domain name registration, which may limit growth.<ref name="study"></ref>

* End user awareness about internet domain names was quite high; nearly half the users surveyed knew what a domain name is. 40% typed domains directly into the navigation bar of their browser (compared with 35 % of global users), and nearly all users from the region check the domain name before clicking search results.<ref name="study"></ref>

* End user awareness about internet domain names was quite high; nearly half the users surveyed knew what a domain name is. 40% typed domains directly into the navigation bar of their browser (compared with 35 % of global users), and nearly all users from the region check the domain name before clicking search results.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most MEAC TLDs have been available since the early '90s, but growth is not a high priority. Most do little to no promotion and only four -- [[.ae]], [[.af]], [[.pk]] and [[.qa]] -- operate with any commercial focus.<ref name="study"></ref>

* Most MEAC TLDs have been available since the early '90s, but growth is not a high priority. Most do little to no promotion and only four -- [[.ae]], [[.af]], [[.pk]] and [[.qa]] -- operate with any commercial focus.<ref name="study"></ref>

===Recommendations===

===Recommendations===