The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing digital advertising market, with total digital ad spend reaching $8.185 billion in 2025, according to the latest industry report released by IAB MENA on June 8.
The report showed that digital advertising expenditure in the region grew by 17.8 per cent year-on-year, placing MENA among the top five advertising markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) by total spend.
According to the findings, Egypt recorded the highest growth rate in the region, with digital advertising spend rising 23.1 per cent year-on-year.
The report highlighted MENA’s continued status as a social-first market. Social advertising increased by 19.3 per cent, while social video advertising grew by 23.6 per cent compared to the previous year.
Video advertising remained a strong growth driver, with Connected TV (CTV) expanding by 31 per cent, significantly outperforming the overall market growth rate. Retail Media also emerged as one of the fastest-growing channels, posting growth of up to 40.5 per cent year-on-year.
For the first time, the annual study included dedicated estimates for Connected TV (CTV), Retail Media and Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH), providing a more detailed picture of the region’s evolving digital advertising landscape.
Commenting on the findings, Nisrine Ghazal, Chair of the IAB MENA Board and Chief Digital Officer at Rotana Media Services, said: “This report highlights the continued evolution of the region’s advertising market. MENA remains one of the fastest-growing digital advertising regions globally, demonstrating the ongoing shift of audiences, content consumption, and advertising investment towards digital channels. The findings reflect a market that continues to innovate and expand, supported by strong consumer engagement and increasing advertiser confidence in digital media. The report provides valuable insight into how the market is evolving and the factors shaping the industry’s development.”
Elie Milan, Vice Chair of the IAB MENA Board and Chief Performance Officer of Publicis Media, said: “It’s particularly encouraging to see newer channels such as Retail Media, pDOOH, and CTV beginning to scale. These channels are creating greater choice and opening up exciting new opportunities for advertisers and agencies across the region.”
Ian Manning, Executive Director of IAB MENA, thanked industry stakeholders for their support, saying: “Each year, we see increasing levels of collaboration and support from both members and non-members. Combined with enhanced econometric modelling, this enables us to provide deeper insights and greater market transparency for the benefit of the industry. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this year’s report the most detailed one to date.”
The report, available exclusively to IAB MENA members, provides detailed market analysis and regional breakdowns across key digital advertising channels including video, social media and search.
