Abu Dhabi & Dubai named the smartest cities in the MENA region

According to a new index, the UAE is leading the way for the region when it comes to developing smart cities.

The IMD Smart City Index 2019 is a newly launched ranking system that assesses a city’s ability to implement technology to enhance quality of life, the environment and inclusiveness. Abu Dhabi and Dubai were ranked in first and second place in the MENA region and 56th and 45th overall in the rankings that assessed a total of 102 cities around the world.
The index is based on how citizens of each city perceive efforts to make their cities smart across economic and technological aspects. and to improve the overall quality of life. Abu Dhabi was ranked above cities including Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, while Dubai was ranked higher than Seoul, Paris and Chicago. The top ten cities according to the rankings are Singapore, Zurich, Oslo, Geneva, Copenhagen, Auckland, Taipei, Helsinki, Bilbao and Dusseldorf. “Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two cities that stand out in the whole MENA region in terms of quality of technology and provision of social services to improve quality of life,” said Professor Arturo Bris, the director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre to Arabian Business.
“In the future, the focus of the two cities on city planning and design will continue to be a role model.”
The two UAE cities were also recently ranked as the most livable in the Middle East and North Africa by the Economist.