5 Best Paid Tech Jobs in the Middle East

The Information and Technology industry has generated top salaries worldwide, especially in the last 10 years. Once digitalization programs started and developed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Egypt, countries from the Middle East are also paying more attention and investing more in digitalization and tech. In 2025, working in IT across the Middle East remains one of the most lucrative and in-demand career paths, combining modern technological skills with high earning potential.

Due to its geographical location that stretches from Western Asia up to North Africa, the Middle East is also known for being rich in natural resources such as oil or gas - industries that also provide worthy salaries for those enrolled in the above-mentioned fields. Yet, interconnecting IT and natural resources brought the entire region to another level and opened new opportunities and doors to innovation.

Even though it’s not fair to say that oil empowered IT, or that global trends forced Middle East countries to adopt new technologies, the TechBehemoths team found that the truth is somewhere in the middle and the source of growing income for skilled IT professionals is a combination of natural resources, global trends, education, and the interest of the young generation in IT.

Another important reason why IT jobs are popular is their contribution to future development and also sustainability. It’s the job that reassures those who are doing it that their work will always be in demand on the market. According to The National, out of 10 future jobs in the UAE, 4 are related to IT - a dominant part compared to other industries.

Now that we have set up the fundamental layer of our topic, let’s go to the 5 Best Paid Jobs in the Middle East.

Software Developer

The software developer job requires a broad understanding and includes multiple programming languages and different types of skills. Abstract from this, the Software Developer Salary is one of the best-paid jobs in the Middle East countries, and at the same time one of the most popular activities among all IT jobs.

As a reference, we took the data from Salary Explorer, PayScale, and Glassdoor for 2025 and compared it between several countries from the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region. Here is the data:

• Bahrain – $5,400/mo

• Algeria – $1,950/mo

• Egypt – $800/mo

• UAE – $8,750/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $6,400/mo

These updated figures reflect the continued growth and demand for software development talent across the region, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

For a better understanding and comparison, there is a graphical representation of the average software developer salaries in the Middle East and North Africa Region

According to the sources and the chart above, we can notice that the average salaries of Software Developers in Saudi Arabia are by far the highest in the region, surpassing the salaries of the same professionals in UAE by more than 4 times, and 25 times those from Egypt

AI Developer

AI has become one of the hottest topics in the IT market ever since it appeared. AI developers are getting better paid compared to other fields, mostly because the Artificial Intelligence progress opened new doors to multiple industries such as medicine, fintech, marketing, and even agriculture. Now, in the MENA region, countries like the UAE and Egypt are researching the topic and implementing AI technologies on a large scale, which makes the job in the region one of the best-paid.

According to the data from the same Salary Explorer, here are the average monthly salaries for AI developers in several Middle Eastern countries for 2025:

• Bahrain – $5,200/mo

• Algeria – $1,850/mo

• Egypt – $750/mo

• UAE – $8,500/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $6,200/mo

For comparison, check the chart below:

QA | QC Engineer

Surprisingly, QA engineers are one of the best paid IT jobs in the Middle East countries, and when it comes to wages, it is comparable with Software Developer salaries. While the devs are building the entire software, QA’s are responsible for the entire process and methods used - and that explains a lot.

Here are the numbers of QA Engineers' monthly salaries in different Middle Eastern countries according to Salary Explorer:

• Bahrain – $3,850/mo

• Algeria – $1,250/mo

• Egypt – $580/mo

• UAE – $5,700/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $4,000/mo

The overall trend remains consistent: UAE and Saudi Arabia offer the highest wages, while Algeria and Egypt are improving but remain lower in comparison.

Like in the previous cases, we can notice the difference between salaries from the UAE compared to the rest of the countries from the chart. While Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are not so far away from each other and also from the UAE, Algeria, and Egypt, QA Engineers get 6 to 10 times lower salaries compared to the UAE.

Network Engineer

Stable technology connections and management are performed by network engineers who are fairly paid in countries in the Middle East. It is indeed one of the most popular jobs in the region, and it has a vital role in the entire IT infrastructure.

Network Engineers plan, construct, and manage networks to ensure they're optimized and functioning as intended. It may be categorized as a technical management job focused on monitoring and controlling data processes. With this in mind, here are their monthly average salaries in different countries for 2025 from the Middle East, according to Salary Explorer:

• Bahrain – $3,500/mo

• Algeria – $1,050/mo

• Egypt – $880/mo

• UAE – $2,400/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $3,250/mo

In the case of Network Engineers' salaries, the trends are the same, but the differences are slightly smaller than in the previous cases. For example, Egyptian Network Engineers are getting only 9 times lower salaries compared to those working in the UAE. Other IT jobs reveal a 10 times difference between these two countries.

UX Designers

UX Designers are probably some of the most underrated professionals in the top 5 best-paid specialists in Middle Eastern countries. Even though their experience and skills are vital to almost any web or mobile digital project, they get lower wages overall.

According to Salary Explorer, here are the average monthly salaries UX designers get in the MENA region in 2025:

• Bahrain – $2,850/mo

• Algeria – $1,050/mo

• Egypt – $780/mo

• UAE – $5,200/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $4,950/mo

In the graphic chart below, we notice that the salary trends among the countries are pretty much the same, but again, the differences between the highest to lowest salaries are smaller than in previous cases.

General Average Salaries For 5 Best IT Jobs By Country In The MENA Region (2025)

Now that the numbers are all set, it’s time to wrap up everything and draw the lines. The average wages in IT are higher in Saudi Arabia compared to the rest of the countries in the neighborhood. Yet, UAE and Bahrain are close to taking the leading position with a 10%-15% difference from Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, Algeria and Egypt provide among the lowest wages for IT specialists in the region, and surprisingly Algeria pays double compared to Egypt for the same services (According to Salary Explorer Data)*

Of course, the MENA region includes 17 countries, but in our research, we took the most different ones as an economic model, business performance, IT infrastructure development, and worldwide IT notoriety.

So, based on each of the 5 top IT salaries in the MENA region, here is what you would get on average in each of the 5 analyzed countries in 2025:

• Bahrain – $3,600/mo

• Algeria – $1,400/mo

• Egypt – $700/mo

• UAE – $4,800/mo

• Saudi Arabia – $5,500/mo

In 2025, the average salary in the IT sector across the MENA region is approximately $3,350 per month. The IT sector continues to be one of the highest-paying industries in the region, maintaining its position as a leading source of lucrative career opportunities for skilled professionals.

Average IT Salaries in MENA (2025)

Country	Software Developer	AI Developer	QA Engineer	Network Engineer	UX Designer
Saudi Arabia	$8,701/mo	$6,464/mo	$5,086/mo	$6,480/mo	$5,292/mo
UAE (Dubai)	$5,500/mo	$5,000/mo	$3,000/mo	$2,600/mo	$2,100/mo
Bahrain	$2,163/mo	$1,800/mo	$2,000/mo	$2,000/mo	$2,200/mo
Egypt	$336/mo	$688/mo	$512/mo	$815/mo	$711/mo
Algeria	$1,316/mo	$1,670/mo	$1,191/mo	$919/mo	$919/mo

Data sources: Qubit Labs, Digital Defynd, SalaryExpert, GulfTalent.

These figures reflect current market trends and can vary depending on experience, location, and specialization.

Key 2025 Trends

• AI salaries growing fastest – AI developers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are seeing significant salary increases due to investments in emerging technologies and high demand for AI talent. (Digital Defynd)

• Competitive QA and UX salaries – QA engineers and UX designers continue to earn competitive salaries, particularly in Dubai and Riyadh, driven by the demand for quality assurance and user experience in software development. (Glassdoor, SalaryExpert)

• Significant regional differences – UAE and Saudi Arabia lead in remuneration, while Egypt and Algeria offer lower salaries, reflecting differences in IT industry maturity.

To Sum Up

The Middle East IT market in 2025 continues to be dynamic and somewhat unpredictable when it comes to salaries. Probably the Egyptian wages in IT are comparably low due to BPO activity in the country.

Nonetheless, the wages in IT remain among the leading in the region and are constantly growing. This is good news for the young generations, mainly because more and more youngsters are attracted to this industry and the digital market.