More than one in five adults in the UAE are currently involved in launching new businesses — a statistic that sits at the centre of the country’s latest global recognition as the world’s most supportive environment for entrepreneurs.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 Report, which draws on over two million interviews across 53 economies since its founding and represents roughly 43% of the global population, ranked the UAE first worldwide for the fifth year running among high-income nations.
The country placed at the top across eight framework indicators, covering physical infrastructure, government support policies, tax and regulatory environment, entrepreneurship programmes, research and development transfer, market entry dynamics, regulatory burden, and entrepreneurship education. In entrepreneurial finance and access to funding, the UAE came in second globally.
The UAE is one of only four countries to have met or exceeded the “sufficiency” threshold across all entrepreneurship framework conditions in the index — a benchmark that reflects consistent performance rather than strength in isolated areas.
Economy and Tourism Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri credited the results to leadership priorities that have long treated entrepreneurship as a structural pillar of national development. “This achievement reflects the directives of our wise leadership, which has placed entrepreneurship and support for small and medium enterprises at the forefront of national priorities, recognising them as a key pillar in building a competitive, knowledge-based economy driven by innovation,” he said. “It also reflects the resilience and adaptability of the UAE economy in responding to regional and global changes.”
Al Marri also pointed to the national campaign “UAE: The Global Capital of Entrepreneurs” as evidence of the country’s ambition to draw talent and innovators from around the world, and said the GEM findings align with the objectives of the “We the UAE 2031” vision, which targets growth in technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, space, and financial technology.
The UAE scored 7 on the National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI) for 2025, which measures national conditions based on expert evaluations. Early-stage entrepreneurial activity reached 19.2%, with participation rates of 19.6% among nationals and 22.4% among residents — a spread that reflects the country’s ability to engage both its citizen base and its expatriate population.
The GEM report placed the UAE among only six countries where entrepreneurs broadly acknowledge the critical role artificial intelligence will play in their businesses over the next three years. Alongside Taiwan, Norway, and Sweden, the UAE also received an “Excellent” rating in sustainability priorities and AI awareness.
In international market access, the country ranked among the top five globally, with startups drawing on logistics and infrastructure networks that connect them to markets well beyond the region. The report also flagged government-backed investment funds and venture capital availability as key factors enabling entrepreneurs to scale from concept to operational business.
