Coursera Global Skills Report 2026 Launches AI-Human Skills Synergy Index, UAE Ranks First in MENA

Coursera introduced the AI-Human Skills Synergy Index in its Global Skills Report 2026, covering 98 countries and measuring whether learners develop AI skills alongside the human skills needed to apply them. The UAE ranks first in the Middle East and North Africa and sixth globally on the index, ahead of the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, China, and India. The report shows UAE AI course enrollments grew 75% year over year, AI security enrollments rose 243%, generative AI grew 117%, complex problem-solving increased 56%, and critical thinking rose 39%.

The report expands AI education from single-skill training to a combined assessment of AI skills with human skills such as critical thinking and complex problem-solving, giving education institutions and enterprises a reference for judging talent supply. For education product practitioners, rapid enrollment growth in AI security, generative AI, and agentic workflows indicates learning demand is shifting toward application and governance. The data come from platform learning behavior and third-party readiness indices, describing correlations rather than proving that course learning improved employment or productivity outcomes. Education institutions and curriculum designers can use the index to adjust how AI courses combine with human skills courses, focusing on fast-growing areas such as AI security, generative AI, and agentic workflows. Employers can use verifiable credentials such as micro-credentials to identify talent with AI application skills, reflected in the 101% growth in AI-related micro-credential enrollments in the UAE.