Riyadh Climbs Five Spots on Smart City Index to 25th Ranking

Saudi Arabia’s capital city has climbed five places on the International Institute for Management Development’s Smart City Index this year, placing the city 25th overall in the world. The Smart City Index assesses a wide range of criteria in a city, including health, mobility, and governance. Crucially, the index measures these criteria across the entire city, not just focussing on the central metropolitan area.

The report showed that proper sanitation, CCTV surveillance, and public security reached even the lowest income areas in Riyadh. Riyadh is the highest ranking of four Saudi cities, all of which now rank in the top 100 smart cities - Makkah is 52nd and Jeddah 55th, while Al Khobar comes in at 99th for the first time in 2024.

The inclusion of more Saudi cities in the index, and their continual improvement in ranking, is expected to drive further economic growth and investments, as well as make the cities more appealing for foreign visitors.