7 November 2024 - Dubai has climbed four spots to become the world’s 5th best city brand out of 100 cities,behind London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo, according to the latest Brand Finance Global City Index, the most comprehensive global survey of city perceptions.
The 2024 results are based on a survey of over 15,000 respondents across 20 countries, offering a detailed look at how the world’s leading city brands are viewed. Respondents were asked to rate 100 cities on Key Performance Indicators: Familiarity, Reputation, and Consideration, indicating how strongly these cities are perceived as places people would want to live, work, study, visit, retire, and invest in. In addition, respondents chose from 45 attributes grouped under seven pillars, including Culture & Heritage or Business & Investment, that they associated with city brands.
Dubai’s top rank for Reputation is matched by its top rank in the Business & Investment pillar. The city has also achieved impressive gains in terms of consideration for working locally (up from 16th to 8th) and consideration for working remotely (up from 24th to 4th).
The emirate is a hotspot for innovation and start-ups, with initiatives like the Dubai Future Foundation contributing to its 1st place ranking for future growth potential. Additionally, Dubai’s 2nd place ranking for its strong and stable economy and 3rd place ranking for attractive personal taxation further solidifies the city’s status as a prime location for investment, making it the top city globally for investment consideration.
Andrew Campbell, Managing Director, Brand Finance Middle East,commented:
"Dubai's rise to become the world’s fifth-best city brand is primarily driven by its achievement of ranking first globally for reputation. This enhanced perception underscores the effectiveness of the UAE government's strategic investments in infrastructure, tourism, and the business ecosystem. The substantial improvements in Dubai’s consideration metrics further highlight the city’s increasing allure as a premier destination for visitors, residents, businesses, and global investors."
Abu Dhabi holds its 2023 global ranking at 30th, although it has improved by 8 spots in Consideration, now ranking 24th. Notably, the city sits in 2nd rank for consideration to invest, up 12 ranks from 2023, and 9th globally for consideration to work remotely, up 15 ranks from 2023.
Abu Dhabi also ranks an impressive 5th in the Business & Investment pillar, including 4th for being great for start-ups and innovations, and 2nd for future growth potential. It has also gone up 16 ranks to 20th globally for being perceived as a leader in science and technology, further underscoring the city’s growing appeal as an innovation hub.
Behind Abu Dhabi, Doha (69th) ranks 19th for attractive corporate taxation and 20th for attractive personal taxation.
Riyadh continues its progress climbing 4 places to 75th globally with notable improvements in consideration to work, live and invest (all up 7 places or more). In particular, it has climbed 37 places for famous sports teams and clubs, 24 places for great private schools and 20 places for great shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.
Global Results
London retains its position as the world’s top city brand. The city excels in Familiarity (3rd) and Reputation (3rd), exemplifying its strong global profile and appeal. However, London faces challenges in Consideration (19th), particularly in areas like living, investing, and retiring, with affordability (97th) emerging as a major concern. New York and Paris hold the 2nd and 3rd ranks, respectively. Paris leads in Culture & Heritage, while New York holds the top spot for Education & Science. Tokyo has risen to 4th rank and is perceived as the world's leader in science and technology.
David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, commented,
“The 2024 study reveals that familiarity can be a double-edged sword. For example, while London remains the world’s best city brand overall, its perceptions across certain metrics have weakened this year. It is no longer considered the world’s top city to visit – overtaken by Rome, or to study in – where Boston is now top of class. These findings provide valuable insights into the changing perceptions and priorities of residents and visitors, which can help guide decision makers in cities across the world in implementing effective strategies to drive growth.”
With the introduction of regional expansions, including the US City Index launched earlier this year, the report helps city leaders across the world to understand the top 100 global city brands.
For a detailed breakdown of the rankings and insights into the global city brands, visit the full report at www.brandfinance.com/globalcityindex.
Note to Editors
Presented by brand evaluation consultancy Brand Finance, the Brand Finance Global City Index is based on a global survey of over 15,000 members of the public conducted in September 2024 in 20 countries on all continents to measure perceptions of the world’s top 100 city brands.
To arrive at a comprehensive assessment of the city brands in the ranking, alongside measuring Familiarity, the survey asked the respondents about the general Reputation and their personal Consideration of each city as a place to live, work locally, work remotely, 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 (Business & Investment, Liveability, Culture & Heritage, People & Values, Sustainability & Transport, Governance, and Education & Science).
To ensure comparability among the top 100, the Index excludes domestic perceptions about city brands, taking into account those of foreign respondents only. Nevertheless, the domestic perceptions were also measured in the survey and are available for the 20 countries where the research was conducted.
About Brand Finance
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand evaluation and strategy consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
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Disclaimer
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable if the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any individual, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
