BCG’s inaugural Intelligent Cities Index places Dubai among the world’s leading cities for leveraging AI and digital technologies to improve quality of life, government services and business competitiveness
Dubai: Dubai has been ranked second globally in the inaugural Intelligent Cities Index published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reaffirming the emirate’s position as one of the world’s leading cities in the adoption of artificial intelligence and advanced digital technologies.
The index evaluated 61 cities across 39 countries, assessing how effectively they use AI and digital technologies to deliver tangible benefits for residents and businesses while enhancing urban competitiveness and sustainable development.
The report highlighted Dubai as the world’s top-performing city in the adoption of AI technologies and smart city solutions, identifying this area as the emirate’s strongest-performing category among the five domains assessed.
The ranking reflects Dubai’s extensive deployment of AI-powered applications and digital services across multiple sectors, enabling the city to achieve one of the highest levels of digital maturity among the cities evaluated.
Comprehensive assessment
Published for the first time by BCG, the Intelligent Cities Index measures cities across five key pillars:
Enablers
The assessment is based on 35 indicators across 14 dimensions of digital transformation, providing a comprehensive evaluation of how cities employ technology to enhance services, improve efficiency and strengthen economic competitiveness.
According to the report, Dubai’s exceptional performance in AI adoption demonstrates its success in transforming advanced technologies into practical solutions that generate measurable value for individuals, businesses and society.
Reflection of leadership vision
Commenting on the achievement, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai, said the ranking reflects the success of the UAE leadership’s long-term vision for digital transformation.
“This outstanding global ranking reflects the success of our wise leadership’s vision, which has established digital transformation and AI as strategic priorities for building a more efficient government and a future-ready city,” he said.
Al Mansoori noted that Dubai’s achievement is the result of an integrated digital ecosystem built on data, shared digital infrastructure and close collaboration among government entities and economic sectors.
“This ecosystem enables advanced technologies to be transformed into practical services and solutions that create tangible value for society while fostering the competitiveness of our economy,” he added.
He stressed that AI has become a key enabler of economic growth and quality-of-life improvements across the emirate.
“In Dubai, AI is more than an emerging technology; it is a catalyst for improving quality of life, simplifying services and enabling economic growth.”
Global benchmark for future readiness
Khalfan Juma Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Future Foundation, said the ranking demonstrates the effectiveness of Dubai’s future-focused approach to technology adoption.
“This ranking reflects the success of Dubai’s forward-looking approach, which focuses on transforming emerging technologies into practical applications that benefit both people and the economy,” he said.
Belhoul added that leadership in artificial intelligence is measured by the real-world impact of technology rather than the number of systems deployed.
“Dubai continues to set a global benchmark for future readiness by advancing an integrated ecosystem that combines innovation, research and development, agile regulation and strategic partnerships.”
He said the ecosystem is accelerating AI adoption across sectors while strengthening Dubai’s ability to capture future opportunities and pioneer new models for sustainable development.
AI adoption linked to better outcomes
The report found that cities embedding AI at the core of their services and operations are achieving faster and more sustainable improvements in service delivery and quality of life.
According to the study, leading AI-powered cities tend to maintain a broader portfolio of practical AI applications and consistently record higher levels of resident satisfaction.
The findings suggest a growing shift toward positioning AI as a core element of city operating models rather than as a supporting technology.
The report also identified a strong relationship between frequent use of generative AI tools and higher levels of public trust in the technology, as well as more positive perceptions of its future role.
BCG further noted that cities across the Middle East, including Dubai, demonstrate particularly high levels of enthusiasm for adopting and leveraging artificial intelligence, reinforcing the region’s growing role in the global digital transformation landscape.
