Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha among the world’s top 25 most resilient cities
Kearney and the FII Institute have released the inaugural version of their Global Cities Resilience Index 2025, highlighting the world’s most resilient urban centres – with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Doha all ranked among the global top 25.
The Global Cities Resilience Index (GCRI) is an index that measures the ‘resilience’ of cities to major changes and disruptions in business, technology, climate, social, and more. A total of 31 cities were evaluated across five dimensions: institutional governance, sustainable finance and business, technology and innovation, social and human capital, and global integration.
London (UK), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and New York (US) rank first to third, respectively, with Toronto (Canada) rounding out the top five. Notably, Dubai ranks fourth, demonstrating strong performance in its technology infrastructure and ecosystem, as well as social and human capital.
Abu Dhabi’s 13th-place finish reinforces the UAE capital’s growing standing on the global cities map. Abu Dhabi was lauded by the researchers for its strength in institutional governance, sustainable finance, and social and human capital.
“Together, the two cities highlight the UAE’s comprehensive national approach to long-term resilience, combining future-ready infrastructure, inclusive social policy, and forward-looking governance frameworks that make the country a regional benchmark for adaptive, sustainable urban ecosystems,” state the researchers.
When looking more closely at the dimensions, Riyadh stands out as the global leader in technology and innovation, reflecting the Kingdom’s sustained investment in entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and digital governance under Vision 2030. Its digital-first approach and supportive SME frameworks have enabled a coordinated pipeline from policy to delivery, positioning the city among the strongest global performers on future-readiness indicators.
Doha’s placement among the top six cities on the economic dimension further highlights the region’s momentum. The Qatari capital’s strength in diversification, investment attraction, and pro-growth policy design signals a broader, Gulf-wide shift towards institutionalized resilience and long-term competitiveness.
Urban resilience
With more than half of humanity now living in cities, Kearney and the Future Investment Initiative Institute said that urban resilience is becoming one of the defining challenges of our time.
“Cities are central to the global economy, and drive prosperity in myriad ways. The capacity of any city to withstand shocks is something leaders and businesses must think about extremely carefully. This report helpfully identifies those cities which have the potential to adapt and thrive amid unforeseen change,” stated Richard Attias, Chairman of the FII Institute.
Bob Willen, Global Managing Partner and Chairman at Kearney, added: “The Global Cities Resilience Index addresses a critical gap by measuring not where cities stand today but their systemic readiness to thrive tomorrow. This collaboration with FII Institute creates a forward-looking tool for action that city leaders, investors, and citizens can use to build adaptive capacity.”
