The Development of the Digital Economy: GCC Countries Experience

The economic space is becoming more and more focused on digital changes and huge amounts of data, which results into the real and virtual worlds merging, complementing each other and becoming one. The ability to collect this data, analyze it, and use it for obtaining a real value will determine the future of competitive countries in the world and regional markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In general, the process of transition to a new format is determined by modern global trends, in particular, the desire to reduce the cost of payments, increase the availability of goods and services, and open new sources of income. This paper focuses on the analysis of the features of the digitalization process in the GCC countries. Each of the six countries of the group (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia) implements initiatives aimed at digitalizing the economy. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.