The UAE ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and sixth globally on Coursera’s new AI-Human Skills Synergy Index, ahead of the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, China and India.
The index, featured in Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2026, measures how learners across 98 countries are developing AI skills alongside human skills needed to apply them, while accounting for broader national AI readiness.
The report said the UAE is among countries where skills development and the conditions for applying AI reinforce each other. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index Report estimates generative AI adoption in the UAE at 64%.
The UAE has also approved the establishment of a federal Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority to coordinate AI, data and digital government. Its AI for All initiative, launched with Google, aims to expand access to foundational AI skills and promote responsible use across age groups and professional backgrounds.
Now in its eighth edition, the Global Skills Report draws on learning data from more than 300 million learners across Coursera and Udemy, alongside national readiness data from Oxford Insights’ Government AI Readiness Index.
AI learning accelerates
AI course enrollments in the UAE increased 75% year over year, with AI and machine learning foundations, data and analytics among the leading themes.
Generative AI enrollments rose 117%, while agentic workflows increased 100%. AI security enrollments grew 243%.
Human skills development also increased, with communication and presentation, people leadership and management, ethics and governance, critical thinking and judgment among trending areas.
Enrollments in complex problem-solving increased 56% year over year, while critical thinking rose 39% and innovation increased 7%.
The report also examined AI and human skill combinations that are more distinctive in the UAE than the global average. Stakeholder alignment and influence featured across AI and machine learning foundations, prompting and AI interaction, and generative AI.
Demand for AI skills grows
The share of UAE job postings requiring AI skills increased from 1% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2025, according to PwC’s 2026 AI Jobs Barometer: UAE analysis.
Micro-credential enrollments in the UAE rose 38% year over year, while AI-related micro-credential enrollments increased 101%, the Coursera report said.
Kais Zribi, Coursera’s General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, said the UAE’s ranking reflected its AI ambitions and learners’ focus on developing both AI and human skills.
He said employers and educators had a role in connecting learning with practical experience so people could apply their skills confidently and responsibly.
