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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made significant strides in smart city development, according to the latest IMD Smart City Index 2024. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi secured impressive positions within the top 20 ranked cities globally compared to 2023.
Abu Dhabi climbed three spots to claim the 10th position while Dubai enjoyed a five-place jump, landing at the 12th rank. Notably, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two cities from the Middle East in the Top 20.
Globally, Zurich maintained its dominance for the fifth year in a row, followed by Oslo and Canberra. Other notable mentions include Geneva in fourth and Singapore in fifth.
The IMD Smart City Index utilises a combination of hard data and resident surveys from 142 cities worldwide. This approach sheds light on how cities are leveraging technology to enhance the quality of life for their citizens.
A related press statement by IMD said Abu Dhabi stood out for its consistent performance within the top tier since the index's inception in 2019 alongside Zurich, Oslo, Singapore, Beijing, and Seoul.
The report also highlights Riyadh's promising trajectory. Ranked 24th this year, a climb of five places, Riyadh appears poised to join the top 20 in the near future.
Notably, Saudi Arabia has the highest number of cities in the 2024 index at five with the other four entries being Mecca (52), Jeddah (55), Medina (74) and Al Khobar (99).
Other Arab cities featured in the rankings included Doha (48), Muscat (88), Cairo (114), Algiers (124), Rabat (126), Amman (128), Tunis (137), Beirut (140) and Sana’a (141).
The research was conducted by the Smart City Observatory, part of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre, in collaboration with South Korea-based World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation (WeGO). IMD is a top-ranked business school based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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