Dubai maintains its prominent position in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, securing the 23rd rank among 156 cities in the Global Cities Index for the third year in a row.
Strong Regional Representation
Doha secures second place in the MENA region, ranking 50th globally, while Tel Aviv stands third regionally and 57th worldwide. Riyadh follows as the fourth regional city, ranking 61st globally, and Abu Dhabi takes the fifth regional spot, ranking 66th globally.
A Positive Outlook
Abu Dhabi demonstrates its potential as one of the top 30 cities globally in terms of future outlook.
Quantifying Global Engagement
The Global Cities Index assesses cities across five crucial categories: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. This index aims to quantify a city’s capacity to attract, retain, and generate global flows of capital, people, and ideas.
GCC Cities Shine
Key cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region significantly improve their overall scores in this year’s index. These cities leverage the return to pre-pandemic levels of international travel to attract substantial migrant talent and tourism.
Resilience and Prosperity
Rudolph Lohmeyer, a partner at Kearney, highlights the resilience and economic success of cities in the Gulf, achieved amid challenging global conditions. These cities have actively promoted livability and talent attraction, drawing ever-increasing numbers of expats.
UAE Reforms Boost Attraction
The UAE’s comprehensive economic, legal, and social reforms have made it more appealing to skilled workers. Overhauled visa programs offer foreign workers opportunities to live and work in the UAE, including the 10-year golden visa revamp and the introduction of the green visa, providing five-year residency to skilled workers without a sponsor or employer.
Leading in Attracting Talent
The UAE leads the Arab world in attracting and retaining talent, with Switzerland topping the list globally, according to the 2023 IMD World Talent Ranking.
Kearney’s Global Cities Index
The top five cities in Kearney’s Global Cities Index remain consistent, including New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing, compared to the previous year.
Notable Shifts in the Top 30
Considerable movements are observed among the remaining top 30 cities, with substantial gains for Brussels and Madrid and declines for Washington, D.C., and Boston.
Challenging Business Environment
The business activity category in this year’s index indicates a continued decline, reflecting ongoing challenges in the global economic environment.
Human Capital on the Rise
The human capital profile of global cities has improved for the first time since the start of the pandemic, following the removal of movement restrictions.
Enhancements in Information Exchange and Political Engagement
Scores for information exchange and political engagement have moderately improved this year, while the cultural experience indicator remains stable.
Abu Dhabi’s Global Cities Outlook
Abu Dhabi secures the 27th spot globally on Kearney’s Global Cities Outlook, assessing how these cities are shaping conditions for their future as global centers.
Leading the Global Cities Outlook
San Francisco takes the top spot in the Global Cities Outlook index, with Copenhagen, London, Luxembourg, and Paris following closely.
An Evolving Global Landscape
Brenna Buckstaff, manager at Kearney, underscores the changing global landscape of distributed opportunity. She emphasizes that top-tier global cities must not take their positions for granted, as the hierarchy of leading cities will become more fluid in the future. Opportunities for growth and enhanced productivity will be less concentrated in the coming waves of artificial intelligence-driven innovation.
Also Read
Dubai Maintains Top 25 Ranking Among Global Cities for Third Straight Year