Dubai ranks among top 10 cities in...

London tops the index, followed by New York and Paris

Dubai has been ranked the top city brand in the Middle East and Africa, and ninth globally, according to the inaugural Brand Finance City Index.

Commissioned by brand evaluation consultancy Brand Finance, the Brand Finance City Index ranking is based on a global survey of close to 15,000 members of the public conducted in April 2023 across 20 countries on all continents to measure perceptions of the world’s top 100 cities.

As well as measuring familiarity, respondents were asked about the general reputation and their personal consideration of each city as a place to live, work, study, retire, visit or invest in.

The evaluation of preferences across these seven dimensions was complemented by perceptions of 45 underlying city brand attributes, grouped under seven pillars, such as Business and Investment or Sustainability and Transport.

Dubai has performed well across multiple business and investment attributes, ranking first for future growth potential, second for a strong and stable economy, and third behind only New York and London as "a city of global significance".

The report states: "With a Brand Finance City Index score of 75.8/100, Dubai has gained a reputation as the ‘City of Gold’ for being a major shopping destination for jewellery, but this title has grown to describe the city’s role in finance and trade more broadly."

Abu Dhabi, the second best city brand in the region, ranked 28th globally. The UAE capital ranked ahead of Dubai for business and investment attributes, and performed well for a number of assets, including second place in attractive corporate taxation, third place in attractive personal taxation, fourth for being easy to do business in, seventh in great for start-ups and innovation, and ninth in easy to find employment.

Qatar’s Doha (65th) as well as Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah (77th) and Riyadh (78th) are also included in the study.

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Commenting on the findings, Brand Finance Middle East managing director Andrew Campbell said: “Middle Eastern cities have built very strong brands in a much shorter time than many of their European counterparts.

"The last few decades have seen an exponential growth of business and investment opportunities across all major cities in the region. Efforts to raise the profile of the tourism offering are likely to further increase the familiarity and overall standing of Middle Eastern city brands globally.”

For more information, visit www.brandfinance.com