Etisalat is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world and the leading operator in the Middle East and Africa, headquartered in the UAE. Etisalat operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, servicing over 100m customers out of a total population of approximately 1.9bn people. In 2009, Etisalat reported annual Net Revenues of AED 30.831billion and Net Profits of AED 8.836 billion marking a 5% and 16% increase respectively, compared to 2008. Etisalat is rated by Moodys' Aa3/ Fitch A+ / S&P AA-.