Open government data initiatives in the Maghreb countries: An empirical analysis

Abstract

This article explores the practices followed in preserving and sharing data in open data portals in the Maghreb countries, and assesses whether their structure and organization are consistent with the objectives of these portals. A set of characteristics that must be available in open data portals was developed and then used as a framework for analysing the structure and organization of open data portals in the Maghreb countries. The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the content of five open data portals (in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania). The findings indicate that open data portals in the Maghreb countries provide data from different ministries, local communities and organizations. The findings also indicate that the open government data portals in Algeria and Morocco lack translation of content into English, which affects non-Arabic-language speakers. Moreover, the adoption of open data policies is still in its early stages. The study’s originality lies in the fact that it is the first study that focuses on the countries of the Arab Maghreb and the extent of their progress in adopting and making open data available.

Keywords

Open data Maghreb countries open government

Introduction

Science is built on data collection, analysis, publishing and reuse. Perhaps the most prominent obstacle facing researchers is their inability to access data, in addition to the number of restrictions imposed on the use of data. Open data is data that can be accessed, reused or disseminated for any purpose, including for commercial use, without any publishing costs or restrictions (Shehata and Elgllab, 2021). The main driver for Arab governments to establish open data portals is their desire to achieve transparency and make data available to society in order to achieve sustainable development goals. However, creating and managing open data portals can involve many organizational and structural problems. These include determining the type of data that can be shared, sharing policies, data that may violate privacy, and the compliance of the portals with local and international legislation (Gascó-Hernández, 2014; Nam, 2015). ‘Open’ means the freedom to use, reuse and redistribute data without imposing any restrictions on such use or reuse by third parties, making the data available to all individuals. The concept of open data mainly focuses on the importance of supporting usability and access to an entire data set or knowledge work without imposing any restrictions (Molloy, 2011). The concept of open data is based on two foundational principles: that quality and creativity in the use of data is what creates human, social and economic wealth, not its existence or possession, and that the data produced by public bodies is the property of the citizens who finance those public bodies (Mauthner and Parry, 2013; Zuiderwijk et al., 2014).

Recently, many governments, including those of Arab countries, have adopted open government data (OGD) policies, whereby web technologies are harnessed to make government data accessible. For example, Egypt launched an open data portal in 2012, where government data and statistics are available for the public. Similarly, Oman launched several policies regulating open data in 2014 with Royal Decree No. 40/2014. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also joined the open data movement by creating portals that give access to government data under one umbrella. These and other developed countries have heralded an era of openness and transparency in public services (Saxena, 2017c).

Despite the many advantages of open data, making data open to the public also involves several challenges. For example, the institution that makes data available to the public must establish and maintain data repositories and perform many technical operations to ensure ease of access and retrieval. Sharing data openly also involves the possibility of that data being misunderstood or interpreted out of context (Peer and Green, 2012).

In order to ensure the continuity of the open availability of data and that it not be misinterpreted, governments and institutions that share their data are keen to develop policies that regulate the handling and sharing of such data (Borgman, 2018). The regulation of data handling and sharing is not intended to impose restrictions on users but rather to establish a framework that governs this process in order to avoid any problems resulting from the misuse of data (Piovesan, 2017). In this sense, open data policies ensure the long-term transparency of government information and thus contribute to the right of citizens to access government information, which is a fundamental principle of democracy (Saxena, 2017b). Moreover, open data policies can increase the participation, interaction and self-empowerment of open data users (such as citizens) and service providers alike, spurring economic growth and bringing many other benefits (Zuiderwijk and Janssen, 2014).

This study focuses on the current reality and practices used in preserving and sharing data in open portals in the Arab Maghreb, and assessing whether the structure and data organization are consistent with the objectives for which these portals were established. To achieve this goal, a set of requirements and characteristics that must be met in open data portals was developed and then used as a framework for analysing the structure and organization of data for open data portals in the Maghreb countries.

Open data portals are a recent phenomenon in the Arab world and still in their early stages. The motivation for governments to adopt open data initiatives is related to achieving cooperation, participation and transparency in the provision of public services. Open data initiatives also contribute to providing and launching new government services for citizens; enhancing citizen services, citizen satisfaction and policymaking processes; maximizing administrative processes; facilitating the creation of new data based on data integration; and ensuring data sustainability without any data loss (Janssen et al., 2012).

The main problem encountered in this study is the fact that open data practices in the Arab world are relatively recent and still in their nascent stages. This makes these practices the subject of constant evaluation, in order to develop and improve them in line with global practices. Government portals for open data in the Arab Maghreb countries are considered the gateway for studying the reality of open data services in these countries. It is also possible to identify the extent to which government policies have achieved the goals set in this regard. The evaluation of open data portals also contributes to identifying the suitability of the available data for the aforementioned goals of achieving transparency and maximizing administrative processes and other goals.

Methods

In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the authors adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the content of the open data portals of the Arab Maghreb countries on the Internet. The study sample included five open data portals – those of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. The content analysis was carried out between June and September 2021. Table 1 outlines the details of the five portals.

Table 1.

The study sample.

Country	Portal name	Link
Algeria	Algeria Data Portal	https://algeria.opendataforafrica.org
Libya	Libya Data Portal	https://libya.opendataforafrica.org
Mauritania	Mauritania Data Portal	https://mauritania.opendataforafrica.org
Morocco	Open Data of the Kingdom of Morocco	http://data.gov.ma
Tunisia	National Open Data Portal	http://www.data.gov.tn

In order to conduct this research, a list of 47 criteria was developed; the criteria were divided into four main categories: metadata (10); features of open data (12); services available within pages (17); and means of communication (8). The list included the following main elements: metadata criteria such as defining open data, identifying the person responsible for publishing the data, the existence of a guide to open data policies, and the intellectual property of the data available on the website; open data features such as visualization, the personal identifiers of the responsible party, an English translation and ease of access; available services features such as availability in a structured form suitable for technical use (e.g. comma-separated values (CSV), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Microsoft Excel spreadsheets), the site containing an index and links to help with navigating the pages, the browser showing the current page by displaying its URL address, telephone number, means of communication and consistency. In order to develop this list, the authors consulted previous studies on the topic (e.g. Farrag, 2019; Saxena, 2018a).

Literature review

This literature review covers the studies related to open data in the Middle East. The section also covers the challenges of adopting open data and current practices. The researchers used many Arabic databases to search for Arabic literature, such as Dar-Almundumah and Al-Manahl. In addition to the Arabic databases, international databases such as Emerald and SAGE were consulted.

The concept and objectives of OGD

Open data is data that can be freely used, reused and distributed by anyone. Abu Rida and Mahmoud (2017) define OGD and information as information that public and governmental bodies and institutions collect, produce and publish. Open data must be made available to the public without restrictions to access or use, preferably in files for easy access and retention. The different types of OGD and information include commercial, tourism, topographical and legal information. One of the characteristics or features of OGD is that it must cover the services and activities of the government entity comprehensively and be of value to users and beneficiaries (Abu Rida and Mahmoud, 2017).

Open data is used under the condition of refereeing its original owner and making any new work based on the data available under the same open data license (Saxena, 2018b). According to the literature, OGD may be classified into six types: (1) private open data, such as business and investment information, documents and patents; (2) geographical information, including addresses, aerial photographs, buildings, cadastral information, geodesic networks, geology, hydrographic data and topographic information; (3) legal information, including the decisions of national, foreign and international courts, national legislation and treaties; (4) meteorological information, including climate data and models, as well as weather forecasts; (5) social data, including various types of statistics on the economy, employment, health, population and public administration; and (6) transportation information, including traffic congestion, roadworks, public transportation and vehicle registrations (Saxena, 2018a; Ubaldi, 2013).

Open data is how governments seek to communicate with society and demonstrate a degree of transparency. Thus, open data is evidence of the development of the ‘open government’ phenomenon, which is based on three pillars: transparency, participation and cooperation (Wirtz and Birkmeyer, 2015). OGD initiatives aim to build collaborative bridges between citizens and the government by disseminating and providing access to information. The subject of OGD has attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, we found a number of studies that have aimed to explore the extent to which governments in different geographic regions adopt these initiatives and the extent to which these initiatives have succeeded in meeting the information needs of citizens (Safarov et al., 2017; Wirtz et al., 2018).

Open government works to improve the efficiency of public services; provide open data to individuals, the private sector and non-governmental organizations; and achieve efficiency in decision-making. Open data is a guarantee against poor governance and corruption (United Nations, 2018). Muhammad and Dakhel (2019) indicate that making open data available to citizens in the Gulf countries enhances their right to know, access, use and share information. Abu Rida and Mahmoud (2017) conclude that the advantages of open data include providing opportunities for employment and investment; encouraging and supporting innovation through private institutions benefiting from data and information; and supporting scientific research by providing access to data and statistics published by institutions. It helps with making economic, social and informed decisions at a low or medium level.

Open data practices in the Middle East

Arab countries have achieved varying degrees of success in the areas related to open government, such as e-government, open data, and the adoption of relevant legislation and laws. Most of the efforts in open government in the Arab region have focused on OGD portals (United Nations, 2018). Muhammad and Dakhel (2019) indicate that all of the OGD portals of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries need to be further developed to varying degrees; each portal suffers from different shortcomings in many services. Al-Saadani (2015) found that developed countries design their open data portals using open source software while applying open data principles. The study also concludes that there is no integrated portal for OGD in the Arab countries that matches the portals of developed countries in terms of resources and services related to open data.

With regard to the characteristics of open data and the services available on OGD portals, many studies have explored Arab initiatives in the field of OGD and compare open data initiatives in Arab countries. Saxena (2018b) aims to provide an overview of OGD frameworks in six countries in the Middle East (Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan). The study reveals that OGD initiatives in these countries are still at an early stage. The study found that all six countries already have open data policies, but the data provided through those government portals is incomplete and outdated. Another study by Saxena (2018a) aims to compare the OGD initiatives in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan. The study found that OGD initiatives were adopted in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan at a very early stage. The data that is shared openly is incomplete and does not achieve the goals of open data initiatives. The study also found that the data presented is aggregated data, which is presented in such a way that it does not allow for analysis.

Farrag’s (2019) study aims to identify the current practices of Saudi universities in managing open data, especially research data. The article explores the topic in terms of the preferred ways of making data available, the entity responsible for access, the extent of disclosure of the relevant policies and legal licenses, what types of data are available, and the file formats in which it is made available. The study concludes that Saudi universities focus on providing administrative statistical data, not research data, and that this data does not come via university repositories or data facilities. The results show that the data is sourced from fixed web pages without any search capabilities, without providing services related to research data and without specific plans for data management.

Salem and Shehata (2020) review the open data portal of the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman; their study analyses the content of the portal to identify the quality of the open data provided through the portal. The study concludes that the portal provides users with the ability to obtain data on higher education institutions and provides tools that facilitate the analysis and representation of such data, which aids in the extraction of information that can be used in scientific research. Katbi (2020) explores the situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding the use of OGD. The study also sought to assess citizens’ awareness of OGD and identify citizens’ requirements for OGD. The results reveal that the government supports open data, which is reflected in increasing awareness of open data practices.

Open data challenges in the Middle East

The literature reveals that many scholars have explored the policies and challenges of open data in the Middle East. These studies reveal that the implementation of open data has faced significant challenges in the Middle East, including deciding which data can be made available, recognizing the importance of that data, and an unwillingness to share government data publicly (United Nations, 2018). Abu Rida and Mahmoud (2017) stress that implementing open data and information policies by launching initiatives has positive effects at the local level (supporting ways of cooperation between different institutions and achieving participation with citizens), the regional level and the international level. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (2018), most Arab countries do not have a clear and integrated policy or strategy for open government. However, many have full or partial national plans for open government. Its report states that those countries that have plans for open government are Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, while five Arab countries have adopted laws on the right to access information (Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen).

Saxena (2018b) found that the countries in her study sample (Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey) already had open data policies. However, the data provided through the portals of these governments is incomplete and outdated, creating barriers to using the data sets for analysis and interpretation. It is unfeasible to use the open data provided by these portals due to the poor quality of the data. Another study by Saxena (2018a) examines the challenges facing OGD initiatives in Iran, Jordan and Lebanon. The findings show that many challenges must be overcome to properly adhere to the objectives of OGD initiatives, including improving the interaction between citizens and government by creating a culture of transparency, collaboration and accountability. One of the works that deals with open data in the Sultanate of Oman is Saxena’s (2017b) study, which concludes that the open data initiative in Oman suffers from many problems, which has resulted in the inappropriateness of using the data for analysis and extracting useful information. The study found that it is essential that the Omani government pay more attention to open data initiatives in order for the open data portal to keep pace with the existing initiatives of other governments.

Katbi (2020) sought to assess the level of citizen awareness in the Kingdom of Bahrain with regard to OGD and identify citizens’ requirements for OGD. The study also attempts to identify the main challenges and obstacles in using or reusing OGD in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The results show significant efforts on the part of the Bahraini government to advance the implementation of the OGD initiative. In the United Arab Emirates, government agencies make data sets available through dedicated electronic portals to enhance citizen participation, transparency and administrative efficiency. The United Arab Emirates government has tried to make the published data useful so that different beneficiary groups (citizens, private sector professionals, non-governmental organization professionals, software developers, etc.) can obtain information from it. However, there are several barriers to the reuse of the data sets for a large number of the beneficiaries (Saxena, 2020). In Saudi Arabia, the open data portal provides a set of open data that has been derived from many ministries. However, despite the availability of open data, there are barriers to the reuse of the data sets due to the lack of publication of updated data. Saxena’s (2019) study concludes that the quality of the data sets available through the portal must be improved. There is a need for more participation from different ministries in the data sets. Also, the study found that users are not aware of the availability of open data, which means that the country should enhance user participation by encouraging users to contribute to the data sets and thereby improve them.

Results and discussion

In order to learn about the current open data practices in the Maghreb countries, the researchers analysed the portals in terms of the information provided about the portals, communication methods, features of open data available in the portals, and services provided by the portals.

Information provided about the portals

Table 2 shows that information about open data and the portals was available in the government data portals for both Morocco and Tunisia. On the other hand, Algeria did not have a guide to open data policies, but announced open data with links to social media and defined open data terms. In Libya and Mauritania, more information was missing than in Algeria, such as the definition of open data and the person responsible for publishing the data on the web page.

Table 2.

Information provided about the portals and open data.

Criteria	Libya			Algeria			Tunisia			Morocco			Mauritania			Frequency
Criteria	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Frequency
Refers to open data with clear details for users	√			√			√			√			√			5
Explanation of portal’s aim and open data		√		√			√			√				√		3
Provides information on who is responsible for publishing the data on the web page		√		√			√			√				√		3
Existence of a guide to open data policies		√			√		√			√				√		2
Indicates the intellectual property of the data available on the site	√			√			√			√			√			5
Links to open data on the government services website	√			√			√			√			√			5
Shares open data with social media links		√			√		√			√				√		2
Definition of open data		√			√		√			√				√		2

Communication methods

From Table 3, it is clear that the OGD portals in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco provide the following means of communication: emails for inquiries, easy follow-up of search requests and inquiries, and the possibility of requesting unavailable data. As for Libya and Mauritania, communication on the OGD portals is limited to emails for inquiries. With regard to Algeria’s open data portal, it was found that it lacks any means of interaction with the data, such as social media platforms. It also lacks an opinion poll, a mobile application and an electronic chat service for communication. The open data portals of the Arab Maghreb countries lack electronic chat services for ease of communication. The open data portals of Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Mauritania lack really simple syndication (RSS) services, opinion polls and mobile applications.

Table 3.

Communication method on the pages of the OGD portals in the Maghreb countries.

Criteria	Libya			Algeria			Tunisia			Morocco			Mauritania			Frequency
Criteria	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Frequency
Email for inquiries	√			√			√			√			√			5
Electronic chat service for ease of communication		√			√			√			√			√		0
Social media platforms for interaction with data users and links to electronic platforms		√			√		√			√				√		2
RSS feed		√			√		√				√			√		1
Easy to follow up on search requests and inquiries		√		√			√			√				√		3
Opinion poll		√			√		√				√			√		1
Mobile application		√			√		√				√			√		1
Possibility to request unavailable data		√		√			√			√				√		3

Open data characteristics

Table 4 reveals that the OGD portals in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania have the following features: open data is published in the form of raw data; the data contains images and illustrative graphs; the data contains the personal identifiers of the responsible parties; open data exists for a range of years; and the open data is easy to access, without the need for login data.

Some of the OGD portals in the countries of the Maghreb provide the following features: open data in real time; data that is available in a structured format suitable for technical use (e.g. CSV, XML, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets); data that is published in adjustable file formats, can be cut and pasted, and is downloadable; and an open data usage policy on the site. Notably, the OGD portals in the Arab Maghreb countries do not have a feature that allows the user to be notified if the file needs a specialized programme to open it. Additionally, Table 4 shows that there are no English translations on the OGD portals in Algeria and Morocco.

Table 4.

Open data characteristics.

Criteria	Libya			Algeria			Tunisia			Morocco			Mauritania			Frequency
Criteria	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Frequency
Publishes open data in the form of raw data	√			√			√			√			√			5
Data contains illustrative pictures and graphs	√			√					√			√	√			3
Data contains personal identifiers of the responsible parties	√						√			√			√			4
English translation of the Arabic content	√			√				√			√		√			3
Open data has existed for a range of years	√			√			√			√			√			5
Easy access to open data without the need for login details	√				√		√			√			√			4
Provides open data in real time and makes it available in a structured format suitable for technical use (e.g. CSV, XML, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets)			√		√		√			√					√	2
Data published in editable, cut-and-paste, downloadable file formats	√				√		√			√			√			4
If the file requires a specialized programme to open it, the user is alerted and provided with links to the programme		√				√			√			√		√		0
A policy for the use of open data on the site		√					√			√				√		2

Services available in the portals

Table 5 shows that the OGD portals in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco provide the following services on their pages: an index and links that help in navigating between the pages; the browser shows the current page it is browsing by displaying its complete address; a consistency and compatibility in the pages in the way they are formatted; it is easy to find the site and pages through search engines; a high degree of security in using the site and downloading data; and the ability to search within the pages and the site.

Nevertheless, 40% of the data portals in the Maghreb countries provide links to useful sites related to the available data. The OGD portals in Libya, Algeria and Mauritania lack links to related sites. The open data portal in Morocco lacks pages in more than one language, and the logo of the institution responsible for the data appears alongside all the data. The open data portals of the Arab Maghreb countries were also found to lack services for people with special needs.

Table 5.

Services available in the portals.

Criteria	Libya			Algeria			Tunisia			Morocco			Mauritania			Frequency
Criteria	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Available	Not available	Available to some degree	Frequency
Site contains an index and links to help navigate the pages			√	√			√			√					√	3
Browser can show the current page it is browsing by displaying its full address			√	√			√			√					√	3
Consistency of pages in the way they are presented	√			√			√			√			√			5
Links to websites related to the data provided		√			√		√			√				√		2
Logo of the organization responsible for the data is present in all data			√		√		√					√			√	1
Easy to find the site and pages through search engines			√	√			√			√					√	3
High degree of security in using the site and downloading data	√			√			√			√			√			5
Ability to search within the pages and the site	√			√			√			√			√			5
Pages in more than one language	√			√			√				√		√			4
Content accessible for people with special needs		√												√		0

Conclusion

The main driving force behind open data is making governmental data available for everyone, thereby accelerating the development process. Hence, making government data open to people contributes to human, social and economic wealth development. The OGD in the Arab countries covers the services and activities of the government entities comprehensively (Abu Rida, 2017). Open data supports decision-making and safeguards against poor governance and corruption (United Nations, 2018). Having access to governmental data is the taxpayers’ right, as they fund governmental institutions. The adoption of OGD policies by the Maghreb countries and the harnessing of web technologies to support the availability of this data ensures the transparency of government information and contributes to citizens’ right to access government information, which is a fundamental principle of democracy (Lněnička et al., 2021; Sriyakul and Jermsittiparsert, 2020).

Like other Arab countries – for example, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – the Maghreb countries pay considerable attention to open data policies and portals (Farrag, 2019; Salem and Shehata, 2020; Saxena, 2018b). The Maghreb countries have launched open data portals that provide users with governmental data that can be utilized in research. Notably, the quality of the data varies across the portals – the data collected in the Moroccan government’s open data portal, for example, is mainly from surveys conducted by ministries, local authorities and public bodies, and general statistics and indicators issued by public organizations, local authorities and public bodies.

The open data portals in the Arab Maghreb countries aim to encourage the public to benefit from data that is made available electronically for free. This constitutes an intangible heritage that can serve the entire community. Researchers can find materials related to their work and scholarly field. Developers can create innovative services using this data, and companies can provide added value, creating jobs and wealth for society. The countries of the Maghreb have provided data on their portals about licensing the reuse of open data. One of the essential things indicated is the user’s freedom to participate – that is, to copy, distribute and use a database; as long as the copyrights are stated, the user is free to reproduce the data. However, studies have found that open data portals in the Middle East, including the Maghreb countries, need more attention from governments, and regulations should be amended to be able to provide access to data that would be considered useful for researchers and users (Saxena, 2018a, 2018b, 2019, 2020). There is no integrated portal for OGD in the Arab countries that is comparable to OGD portals in the leading countries in adopting open data policies in terms of resources and services related to open data (Al-Saadani, 2015).

Overall, the open data portals in the Maghreb countries are still in their nascent stages, and there are many opportunities for improvement in these portals and the efforts made by governments. We deem that it is necessary to provide English translations alongside the French and Arabic on the OGD portals in the Maghreb countries. This would allow for the benefits to be enjoyed more widely and provide an opportunity for researchers who are not fluent in Arabic and/or French to access and understand this open data. Moreover, the OGD portals in the Maghreb countries should alert site users to the programmes needed if the data files require specific software. While it has been noted that the open data portals in Gulf countries such as Oman and Saudi Arabia provide services for users with special needs (Saxena, 2016, 2017a), these services are not available in the portals of the Maghreb countries. It is important to help people with special needs access open data by adopting the technical means that allow them to access the data in a suitable format. Additionally, open data portals must have external links that allow access to other sites related to the open data available in the portal.

Open data policies should be available for users. A clear policy will help users understand the nature of the open data and benefit from it. The open data policy should ensure that users follow ethical practices when using the data and reproduce the data under a similar license, which will help to boost the utilization of the data in research (Kassen, 2018). Most Arab countries do not have a clear and integrated policy or strategy regarding open government. However, many have complete or partial national plans for open government, including Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia (United Nations, 2018).

In sum, the Maghreb countries have made significant efforts to provide access to open data. However, these efforts are still in their early stages and require more attention. Open data can provide many benefits for governments and users, but in order to achieve these, the data needs to be provided in a format that is usable for researchers and the public. Governments need to pay more attention to improving the services provided in their current portals. Governments must formulate policies that will help them adopt more open data initiatives and allow more access to government data and information.

Our findings are consistent with the findings of studies conducted in other countries in the region (Asiri and Al-Suraihi, 2019; Saxena, 2018b). The findings indicate a lack of maturity in the Maghreb countries’ open data, which has been concluded by other studies (Saxena, 2016, 2017b, 2018b). Therefore we find, as other studies on the topic have indicated, that it is important to revise open data policies in the region, including the Maghreb countries. In addition, we have found that the open data portals in the Maghreb countries might be inferior in the services they offer compared to other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, as these countries have made progress in their open data portals. On the other hand, compared to developed countries, the open data portals in the Maghreb countries need more government attention to establish a channel that people can use to access public information.

This study was conducted on Maghreb countries’ portals in Arabic and English; we did not include the French version of the portals in our analysis. Hence, more services might be available in the French version of these portals. Another limitation is that our study did not explore the quality of the services provided, as we only focused on the characteristics of the services.

Future work might explore users’ perceptions of the quality of the services and data available through the portals, which would help to improve the current services and enable understanding of the progress made in open data in the Maghreb countries. Future studies might also compare the open data portals in the Maghreb countries with other portals in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Ahmed Shehata

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