Dubai has been rated first in the Middle East and 18th globally in a new ranking of most digitalized cities in the world.
The inaugural Digital Cities Index 2022 of the Economist, a global benchmark of urban technology, looked at the extent and impact of digitization in 30 cities around the world.
Researchers assessed the cities based on their connectivity, services, culture and sustainability. The study also took into account the responses of 3,000 residents globally to determine how cities have fared in certain metrics, such as internet speed, as well as in terms of qualitative factors like the presence of strategies, policies and plans for technologies, such as 5G and artificial intelligence.
Overall, Dubai earned a score of 63.8, higher than other major cities like Madrid, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Auckland.
Dubai was ranked among the top ten in terms of digital finance. The emirate was also ranked among the top seven cities in terms of digital skills levels and satisfaction with e-government portals.
The study found that trust in e-government is high in Dubai. When asked if they were comfortable providing personal and financial information on e-government platforms, 79 percent of the respondents polled for the research in Dubai answered affirmatively.
Dubai also earned full marks in its use of IoT-enabled traffic management, along with other cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Madrid and Washington DC.
Overall, Copenhagen earned the highest score, followed by Amsterdam, Beijing, London and Seoul in the top five.