Abu Dhabi hailed as one of world's 'Cities of Opportunity'

The capital is the only Middle Eastern city to be ranked among the world's 27 most productive urban economies, ahead of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago.

PricewaterhouseCoopers said there was 'room for growth' in Abu Dhabi's policies on sustainability and the natural environment. Sammy Dallal / The National

Abu Dhabi was chosen as one of 27 "cities of opportunity" in an annual ranking conducted by one of the world's leading accounting firms.

The capital, the only Middle East city included in the survey, was ranked the "most productive", based on the amount of GDP produced by each worker in the city.

PricewaterhouseCoopers puts the UAE capital ahead of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago for productivity.

The ranking, which rates cities according to 10 criteria, one of which is productivity, also puts Abu Dhabi in the number one slot among emerging economies for the number of hospitals per head of population, tying with the developed economy city Tokyo.

The capital also scores high on its low crime rate and low cost of public transport.

Overall, Abu Dhabi ranked 22 out of the 27 cities selected by PwC. The firm said there was "room for growth" in its policies on sustainability and the natural environment.

"We have always perceived the UAE as a positive environment for growth and we have selected the capital as one of the 27 cities to be part of the survey due to its position as a financial, commercial and cultural centre that continues on a path of growth and development," said Jacques Fakhoury, PwC's senior partner in Abu Dhabi.

"We have repeatedly discussed talent as core to developing an economy and we are proud to see that Abu Dhabi's workers continue to add great value to its economy."

The PwC study also predicts that by 2025 Abu Dhabi employment will be mostly in the leisure and cultural sectors.

It forecasts growth in employment rates towards 2025 in business services, especially in manufacturing, transport and communications, education and hotels and restaurants.

"As Abu Dhabi joins the world's developed cities in terms of jobs today, the study shows that the biggest part of employment will be in the leisure and culture sectors, by 2025 reaching 20.3 per cent, and the city's total business services will grow by nearly 9 per cent," the report said.

Dennis Nally, PwC's global chairman, said the report was intended as a "guide to shape policymakers' decisions".

Speaking at the PwC Middle East partners gathering in Abu Dhabi, he said that the UAE economy was improving. "It's more stable today, compared with 12 months ago. There are still challenges, but now companies are looking to opportunities to participate in growth."

The Middle East was the fastest-growing part of PwC's business in the financial year 2011-2012, with revenues of US$339 million (Dh1.24 billion), about 23 per cent up on the previous year.