World Leaders on Twitter - Top10 Rankings

Research Note: World Leader Rankings on Twitter August 2011 6 The notable exception is His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has increased his social communications with amplified tweets from his Twitter account and a new iPhone app population to allow the UAE citizenry and residents to have quick and easy access to news related to Sheikh Mohammed such as issued decrees, resolutions and directives. The app provides a news channel, his Facebook page, and Twitter page all in one application with a feature to switch between Arabic and English. His Highness is currently ranked 10th overall and remains a strong example of leadership for the Middle East in engaging his citizenry with open communication. State Fragility Remains a Determining Factor The DPC's analyses shows that 80% of the countries on the list are considered politically stable, reconfirming that leaders who are confident in their leadership role and assured of their political legitimacy are most comfortable with social media regardless of the form of government whether they serve in democracies, autocracies or monarchies. In fact, there are now 16 countries out of the total that tweet which are "non-democratic" up from seven countries in 2010. The political leadership of most fragile nations, or those with a high degree of political instability, continue to view social media as a threat and adoption remains low. Exceptions to this include President Goodluck Jonathan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (whose account grew by over 16,000 followers in one year) and President Michel Martelly of Haiti who currently has a Klout score around 65, meaning that at this point he has reached critical mass and people are interacting regularly with his content. In the age of participation Open communication from heads of state through social media channels such as Twitter is only a single dimension of a much broader transformation. The empowerment of public service officials with an eagerness for innovation and recognition of the value of citizen engagement -- asking for feedback and listening to constituents are part of this wave of change. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is one leader who chooses to tweet in his native language and in English, with separate accounts for each. In late 2010, a personal account in the president‟s name appeared in both languages and currently his Russian language @MedvedevRussia has the largest following. The 2012 presidential elections in Russia are perhaps the reason for the more personal account, taking cues from President Obama‟s success in 2008. Several other leaders have opened Twitter accounts in both their native language and English in order to reach a larger audience. These leaders are the new prime minister of Japan, the president of Azerbaijan and the prime minister of Kazakhstan.