Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked among the world’s top 20 cities in Boston Consulting Group’s inaugural Intelligent Cities Index 2026.
Dubai ranked second globally with a score of 80, while Abu Dhabi placed 20th with a score of 72. Dubai was included in the index’s highest maturity category, while Abu Dhabi was placed in the accelerating category.
The index assessed 61 major cities across 39 countries on how they use technology to serve residents and businesses. It measured performance across five areas: outcomes, strategy, adoption, ways of working and enablers.
London led the global ranking with a score of 85, followed by Dubai, New York City, Washington and Amsterdam. The four cities following London each scored 80.
Dubai ranked among the world’s top 10 in three of the five areas assessed by the index. The report identified it as a leader in the adoption of smart-city applications and artificial intelligence technologies, including digital platforms and electronic government services for residents and businesses.
BCG said Dubai had introduced more smart-city applications than most cities covered by the study. The level of technology adoption contributed to what the report described as the city’s balanced approach to developing intelligent urban services and helped place it in the highest overall maturity category.
The report also found a relationship between frequent use of smart-city applications and resident satisfaction. Dubai was among the cities recording both high application usage and high user satisfaction.
Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, ranked among the world’s top 10 for intelligent-city enablers. This category assesses data and technology capabilities, digital infrastructure and deployment, funding and the start-up ecosystem, and the availability of talent and skills.
The report classified Abu Dhabi as a city that had focused on strengthening these underlying foundations. BCG said such foundations were necessary to support the continued development and expansion of technology-enabled public services.
“Having two UAE cities ranked among the world’s top 20 in BCG’s first Intelligent Cities Index shows the progress the country has made in putting AI into everyday urban life,” said Dr Akram Awad, Managing Director and Partner and Global Lead for Smart Cities at BCG.
“The report highlights strong adoption across smart-city applications, AI platforms and digital government services, supported by high levels of resident optimism. That combination gives cities a strong foundation to continue improving how people live, work and interact with public services,” he added.
The report found that cities across Africa, the Middle East and Asia demonstrated strong momentum in AI adoption, combining relatively high usage with optimism about its future effects. Dubai and Abu Dhabi formed part of this regional trend.
BCG said the leading cities combined technology and infrastructure investment with other factors, including talent development, access to funding, start-up ecosystems and cooperation between government and private-sector organisations.
“BCG’s Intelligent Cities Index shows that sustained intelligent-city leadership requires more than infrastructure investment,” said Rami Mourtada, Partner and Director for Digital Transformation at BCG.
“The cities that are pulling ahead are those that have achieved equilibrium between hard enablers — data systems, technology deployment and digital infrastructure — and the soft enablers of talent development, start-up ecosystems and public-private collaboration,” he said.
“The UAE’s trajectory in this index reflects that balance, and it sets a replicable benchmark for cities worldwide,” Mourtada added.
The index was compiled using 35 indicators across 14 dimensions. Outcomes and technology adoption each accounted for 25% of a city’s score, while enablers also carried a 25% weighting. Ways of working accounted for 15% and strategy for 10%.
