Riyadh jumps 23 spots in Smart City Index 2021 to rank 30th globally

The City of Riyadh

Riyadh moved up 23 places in the Institute for Management Development's (IMD) 2021 Smart City Index to rank 30th globally and 3rd regionally among a total of 118 cities worldwide.

The survey measures residents’ satisfaction about five main aspects in their city, namely health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance.

Meanwhile, Madinah came second, ranking 73rd globally and 4th regionally.

The two cities made a great progress in digital transformation, data, and artificial intelligence (AI), in addition to adoption of the latest digital technologies and solutions, as well as speed and flexibility in processing digital government transactions, digital identity services, and ease of starting new businesses and reducing waiting times.

Meanwhile, Singapore came first globally in the 2021 survey, followed by Zurich, and then Oslo.

On the other hand, Abu Dhabi ranked 28th globally, advancing 14 spots in the 2021 survey. It was followed by Dubai that came 29th globally and 2nd regionally.