In our first edition of the Global Digital Index, created in partnership with the RLC Global Forum, we explore retail and ecommerce in the Gulf States of the Middle East.

OTT video is popular whether it’s free or paid. Every global region and country we track is engaged with these platforms, some very deeply. But new viewers will be hard to find.

Digital gaming has become one of the most popular activities in the world, thanks mainly to the proliferation of smartphones and free mobile games. Here is our worldwide forecast for total gamers, with breakouts by region and for 13 countries.

Remittances represent a large share of global payments and will keep growing—although at a flat rate. Traditional money transfer organizations have to fight harder for a share of the prize as digital-only entrants have stepped up the competition.

DeepSeek, a genAI chatbot that originated from China, astonished the world with its capability to match ChatGPT while costing significantly less to build and using less powerful GPUs. The launch has triggered an industry soul search that could potentially accelerate AI adoption worldwide.

Worldwide ad spending has nearly doubled since 2016, and the outlook remains bright.

Holiday spend, international transactions, and non-card payments boosted growth

Here are five charts on the size of and outlook for the B2B digital ad market worldwide and in 13 individual countries.

Apple risks consumer trust—and security breaches—if it gives the UK a back door to iCloud, but noncompliance invites legal action.