Today's Edition
ALLAN JACOB (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi’s and Dubai’s unstoppable rise on the global liveability rankings is driven by economic and political stability, infrastructure development, digital ambitions, green investments, education, and healthcare.
A new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)), the research and analysis division of the reputed The Economist Group, ranks the UAE capital in 72nd place on the list, a jump in four spots from last year. Dubai has also rapidly climbed the charts to bag an impressive 75th position. Abu Dhabi has an index score of 83.3, while Dubai clocks 82.5 to cement their ascents on the charts.
In EIU’s Liveability Index for 2025, Copenhagen in Denmark has overtaken Vienna to become the most liveable city in the world. The Austrian city outpaced its Danish counterpart on healthcare, but Copenhagen scored a perfect 100 for stability, education, and infrastructure, taking it to first place.
The UAE’s stability and sharp focus on the economy have come in for praise from The Economist’s research wing, which said in its forecast, “The UAE will be politically stable throughout the 2024-28 forecast period. Key appointments and foreign policy will be guided by commercial ambitions, strengthening of ties with established partners, and building on newer markets, especially in Asia and Africa."
It added that high global oil prices and incremental rises in output will bolster government resources, and supportive economic policies, including encouragement of foreign investment, that will bolster non-oil economic expansion. Diversifying and strengthening the business environment will be prioritised, but hydrocarbons will remain central to the economy.
The report said the most improved city is Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia), which saw its scores for healthcare and education rise sharply, taking it up 13 places. Calgary (Canada) saw the biggest fall in the rankings, tumbling from fifth place to 18th. Three UK cities—Manchester, London, and Edinburgh—were also among the biggest fallers as their stability scores dropped. Damascus (Syria) remains the least liveable of the 173 cities in the survey, with Tripoli (Libya) one place above it. Despite last year’s regime change, Syria’s capital city continues to be scarred by years of civil war and has seen no improvement in liveability.
The concept of liveability is assessed based on which locations around the world provide the best—and worst—living conditions, the EIU said. The liveability scores have a broad range of applications, from benchmarking perceived development levels to assigning hardship allowances as part of expatriate relocation packages. The EIU liveability ratings quantify the challenges to an individual’s lifestyle expectations in any given location and allow for direct comparison between locations.
Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors, across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For qualitative indicators, the rating is based on the judgment of analysts and in-city contributors.
For quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points. The scores are then compiled and weighted to provide a score of 1-100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal. The liveability rating is provided both as an overall score and as a score for each category. To provide points of reference, the score is also given for each category relative to New York and an overall position in the ranking of 173 cities is provided.
The average score for liveability across the 173 cities in the index stands at 76.1 out of 100, the same as in 2024. However, scores in the stability category have continued to fall amid geopolitical tensions, civil unrest, and widespread housing crises. In several Western European cities, terrorist attacks and threats, as well as a rising incidence of crime and xenophobia, continue to undermine stability. In Tehran (Iran) and cities in India, stability scores have dropped as the threat of military conflict has intensified.
