Dubai ranked first globally in the adoption category of Boston Consulting Group’s inaugural Intelligent Cities Index, reflecting the widespread implementation and use of smart-city solutions and AI-enabled services across the emirate.
The BCG Intelligent Cities Index 2026 evaluated 61 cities across 39 countries, assessing how major urban centers use artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and institutional capabilities to improve services for residents and businesses.
Dubai also placed second overall in the index, behind London and ahead of New York City. Washington, D.C., and Amsterdam completed the top five, followed by Berlin, San Francisco, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul.
Dubai Leads the Adoption Category
BCG assessed cities across five broad domains: outcomes, strategy, adoption, ways of working and enablers. A different city led each category. London ranked first for resident outcomes, Madrid led on strategy, Dubai topped adoption, New York City placed first for ways of working and Amsterdam led on enablers.
Dubai’s adoption ranking reflects the extent to which digital tools have moved into practical use. BCG found that cities with frequent smart-city application use also tended to record stronger user satisfaction. London and Dubai were identified as cities where both usage and satisfaction were comparatively high, indicating that residents were engaging with digital services rather than encountering them only as limited trials.
The finding aligns with Dubai’s wider effort to consolidate government services into connected digital platforms. In April, the Dubai government directed public entities to integrate services for individuals and businesses into a unified digital ecosystem within one year. Digital Dubai was assigned responsibility for coordinating the integration across government bodies.
Index Examines More Than Technology Infrastructure
The index was designed to measure whether technology is translating into results, rather than counting digital projects or infrastructure in isolation. BCG developed the ranking through five methodological stages, beginning with the selection of cities based on their economic scale and relevance to intelligent-city development.
Researchers then assessed the cities through 14 dimensions and 35 quantitative and qualitative indicators. The measures examined areas including quality of life, economic opportunity, government engagement, the breadth of city strategies, AI use cases, governance models, data systems, infrastructure, funding and access to technical talent.
Cities were classified at one of four maturity levels: leading, accelerating, emerging or developing. BCG said the five highest-ranked cities showed leading maturity in at least two of the five domains, although every city had areas where further development was possible.
The methodology means the index should not be treated as a direct measurement of technology spending or as a simple ranking of which city has the most advanced equipment. Its scope includes whether digital systems are supported by governance, institutional coordination, funding, workforce capabilities and measurable outcomes for residents.
BCG’s findings also indicate that extensive infrastructure alone does not ensure a high ranking. The report separates “hard” enablers, such as data, infrastructure and technology, from “soft” enablers, including talent and funding. According to the consultancy, the most mature cities generally balance both sets of capabilities.
