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The number of Facebook users in the Arab world reached 27.7 million by the end of the first quarter, rising 30 per cent over the three months, while more than 1.1 million Twitter users tweeted at least once every two weeks, according to the second Arab Social Media Report.

The active tweeters generated more than 27.7 million tweets over the three months as events unfolded during the Arab Spring, with the top hash tags 'Egypt' (1.4 million mentions), 'Jan25', 'Libya', 'Bahrain' and 'protest'. Qataris are the most active users of Twitter; 7.8 per cent of the population use the social networking platform. More than 250,000 tweets were sent every day during the quarter, equating to three tweets per second.

Between January and March, the number of tweets from those countries embroiled in political unrest peaked on or close to landmark events.  In Egypt, for example, where there are just 131,204 active tweeters, despite 18 million Internet users, activity peaked on11 February when former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down. (More than half of all Egyptian tweeters are based in Cairo.) Twitter activity in Bahrain peaked on 17 February three days after the uprising began, while in Saudi Arabia it peaked on 18 March in the run up to the protest two days later.

The report is the second edition of a series produced by the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Dubai School of Government, and reveals a substantial shift in the use of social media from social purposes towards civic and political action.

Fadi Salem, director of DSG's Governance and Innovation Programme and co-author of the report, said: 'Social media and its ability to influence grassroots civic engagements, participatory governance models and new social dynamics have been under intense debate in the Arab world in 2011. The growth of social media and the shifts in usage trends have played a critical role in mobilising, empowering, shaping opinions and influencing change among the youth in the Arab world. A critical mass of young and influential social media users exists today, who lead the shift of usage trends from social into political nature across the region.'

While the report concentrated on the first quarter, it also demonstrated that social media is gaining significant ground within the Arab region. The total number of Facebook users in the Arab world was almost 15 million in April 2010, but this had risen almost 90 per cent by 1 April 2011.

About one quarter of all Facebook users in the Arab world are based in Egypt, but this still represents just 7.66 per cent of its population. By contrast, 29 per cent of United Arab Emirates' 8.2 million residents are on Facebook.  More than 70 per cent of the Facebook users in the region are under the age of 30. 

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