Abu Dhabi and Dubai among world’s most liveable cities

Gulf cities, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Jeddah, have risen in the ranking of the world’s most liveable cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Liveability Index 2024”.

The foundation explained in its global index, which was released on Thursday, that sustainable investment in health and education was an important factor in the strong performance of Emirati cities, as both Abu Dhabi and Dubai rose two places from last year.

“This year, Dubai joined Abu Dhabi in achieving the highest level of ease of living on our index (a score of 80 or above out of 100),” said Parsali Bhattacharya, deputy sector director at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “Both cities score highly on stability, infrastructure and education and have seen steady improvements in their overall rankings over the past few years.”

Abu Dhabi was the highest ranked city in the Middle East and North Africa region, ranking 76th globally, up two places from last year, with a score of 81.7 out of 100. It was followed by Dubai, which ranked 78th globally, also up two places from the 2023 index, with a score of 80.8 points.

Kuwait City ranked 93rd globally, while Doha ranked 101st, and Manama, Bahrain ranked 106th globally.

The Economist report added that Saudi cities also witnessed “strong investment in local infrastructure, education, and health to become more attractive to foreign tourists and expatriates, and to diversify their economies.”

Vienna was named the most livable city in the world for the third year, with a score of 98.4 out of 100, out of 173 cities that were classified on the index based on 30 indicators measuring stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure, followed by Copenhagen in second place with a score of 98. point, then Zurich is in third place with a score of 97.1. In order: Melbourne, Calgary, Geneva, Sydney, Vancouver, Osaka, and Auckland.