// CITY_ASSESSMENT
How smart is Dubai?
Dubai scores 85.1% against the DC20 smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #17 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Smart score
85.1%
Rank
#17 / 213
Criteria present
63 / 82
Evidence coverage
92.7%
Dubai's smart city score by area
13 present · 6 partial · 1 absent · 1 not assessed
15 present · 0 partial · 1 absent
14 present · 2 partial · 1 absent
13 present · 5 partial · 1 absent · 1 not assessed
8 present · 0 partial · 0 absent
Where Dubai is strong
- ▸Pervasive IoT Sensing
- ▸Integrated Multimodal Mobility (MaaS)
- ▸Real-time Public Transit Intelligence
- ▸Smart Traffic & Adaptive Signals
- ▸Smart Energy & Buildings
Where the gaps are
- ▸City Data Platform / Urban Data Exchange
- ▸EV & Active-Travel Infrastructure
- ▸Smart Water & Waste
- ▸Data Governance, Privacy & Ethics
Evidence highlights
Open Data by Default · High-value dataset coverage
Dubai provides high-value datasets including annual statistics from DEWA, financial data from the Department of Finance, and transport-related data from the Roads and Transport Authority.
https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/about-us/dewa-statistics/annual-statisticsDigital Twin · 3D city model / digital twin
Dubai is actively involved in digital twin development, as evidenced by DEWA's R&D Centre organizing a workshop on the topic.
https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/about-us/media-publications/latest-news/2024/01/dewa-s-r-d-centre-organises-workshop-on-digital-twin-developmentIntegrated Multimodal Mobility (MaaS) · Unified journey-planning app
Dubai has a unified journey-planning app called S'hail, provided by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/smart-apps/details/s-hailIntegrated Multimodal Mobility (MaaS) · Integrated ticketing / single payment
Dubai utilizes the "nol" card as an integrated ticketing and single payment system for public transport, as indicated on the official RTA website.
https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/public-transport/nol/about-nolAbout this assessment
Dubai was assessed against the 82 criteria of the DC20 smart city framework on 2026-06-26 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found — see how smart cities are measured. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.