Monday 23 / June / 2025
Muscat: The activities of the regional workshop on e-commerce and digital economy statistics commenced here on Monday.
The event, organised by the Statistical Centre for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC-Stat), brings together representatives from the GCC General Secretariat, national statistical agencies, ministries of commerce, central banks, and other government bodies across the GCC countries.
The two-day workshop aims to strengthen national statistical capacities in collecting and analysing data related to e-commerce and the digital economy, ultimately supporting data-driven economic policy-making and advancing GCC statistical integration.
Intisar Abdullah Al Wahaibi, Director General of the GCC Statistical Center, noted that recent years have witnessed rapid changes in the global economic landscape driven by the rise of e-commerce, which is becoming a key engine of the digital economy. She highlighted that the Gulf region has experienced fast-paced growth in this area, fueled by advanced digital infrastructure, a young population, and the adoption of national digital transformation strategies.
She cited UNCTAD reports indicating that global e-commerce sales exceeded $27 trillion in 2022, a nearly 60 per cent increase since 2016. Regionally, the GCC e-commerce market is expected to reach $33.3 billion in 2025 and $46.1 billion by 2029, reflecting an annual growth rate of 10 per cent.
She stressed that while this digital boom offers many benefits, it also presents challenges in accurately and effectively measuring such rapidly evolving activity. She emphasised the growing need for reliable, timely data to assess e-commerce’s contribution to GDP, monitor the digital divide, and support sound economic policymaking.
She also explained that the GCC Committee for Commercial Cooperation has tasked the Statistical Centre with developing an integrated mechanism for building e-commerce indicators, publishing information, and enhancing transparency. This effort forms part of the executive plan for achieving the strategic objectives of the GCC’s unified framework for e-commerce. The recommendation was reinforced in successive meetings with the GCC e-commerce working group, which began its work in 2023.
On her turn, Dr. Hajar El Haddaoui, Director General of the Digital Cooperation Organisation, affirmed that digital data has become the cornerstone for policymaking, sustainable development, and enabling individuals and businesses to participate effectively in the digital space.
She stated that the Organisation believes accurate and up-to-date digital statistics are essential for measuring the impact of digital transformation and identifying challenges and opportunities in the digital business environment. She praised the efforts of the GCC Statistical Centre in developing the statistical infrastructure for e-commerce and expressed a desire to strengthen collaboration with statistical and relevant bodies across GCC countries to develop unified indicators and standards that can be adopted regionally and globally.
She noted that enhancing the ability to measure the digital economy is not just a technical necessity but a strategic imperative for building an inclusive, thriving digital economy, one that can generate employment, foster innovation, support SME growth, and ensure the inclusion of all segments of society, including women and youth, in future opportunities.
The first session of the workshop introduced the concept of measuring e-commerce and the digital economy. It explained that measuring e-commerce, essential for understanding the sector and crafting effective economic and trade policies, involves collecting and analysing data on commercial activities conducted via electronic channels. This includes sales of goods and services through digital platforms, whether between businesses, between businesses and consumers, or among consumers themselves. It also covers transaction volume and value, types of goods and services traded, platforms used (websites, apps, social media), and consumer behaviour patterns.
Measuring the digital economy involves systematically assessing the various components of technology-driven economic activity. This includes digital infrastructure, software, artificial intelligence applications, digital platforms, and ICT-based job roles.
The session also addressed the importance of measuring e-commerce and the digital economy in the GCC, the operational definitions of both concepts, and the role of measurement in supporting policy development, economic diversification, and regional cooperation.
The second session reviewed the GCC Statistical Centre’s project on e-commerce and the digital economy. This initiative aims to enhance the quality of digital and economic data across GCC countries by establishing a unified statistical foundation for e-commerce and digital economy metrics. The project is expected to improve coordination among member states and develop indicators based on established international standards.
