The 2026 Global Financial Inclusion Index gave the United Arab Emirates the top position among 42 markets for small-business finance support, but 21st place overall, Gulf News reported.
The UAE received a score of 96.4 on the measure for financial-system support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). That result is distinct from the broader financial-system pillar, where the country ranked 22nd. The Centre for Economics and Business Research produced the index with Principal Financial Group, which released the findings Nov. 4; it combines public datasets with survey responses.
The UAE’s overall position improved from 22nd in the previous edition. By pillar, it ranked 19th for government support and seventh for employer support. Its employer score was 68.5, compared with a 65.7 average across the markets studied.
The government score increased 1.4 points, though the UAE’s place in that category remained unchanged. Its financial-system pillar ranking advanced two places to 22nd, while its employer-support position fell by one. In employer measures, the UAE placed fourth for financial guidance, fifth for pay initiatives and ninth for insurance plans.
The index also put the UAE among the top five for public perceptions of financial inclusion and ranked it fifth on residents’ views of the financial system’s supportiveness. The country placed fourth on a measure of financial-system support for business confidence. Gulf News reported that both the UAE’s SME result and its business-confidence measure improved over the year, while global views of those roles weakened.
Across the markets covered, the overall financial-inclusion measure reached 52.0 on a 100-point scale, its highest level recorded. A separate global financial-system measure gained 4.4 points to 55.3. At the same time, public assessments of financial inclusion were weaker than at any earlier point covered by the index.
The global employer-support measure declined by 2.9 points for a second straight year, with decreases in 83% of markets. Gulf News said rising expectations and cost-of-living pressures contributed to a widening gap between measured inclusion and public perceptions.
