Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat top the list of best cities to live in

Dubai,

Various countries of the world were affected due to corona infection. However, cities including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat are credited with being the best cities in the world to take steps to curb this vulnerability and make their lives better.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai maintained their status as the best cities to live in in the region in 2021, thanks to the successful handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abu Dhabi, which was ranked 73rd in 2019, has moved up 10 places to 63rd. Similarly, Dubai is ranked 74th to 70th and Muscat 94th.

Regionally, most of the cities saw their rankings falling. Doha slipped from 87th to 88th, Muscat from 83rd to 94th, Kuwait City from 86th to 88th, Amman from 99th to 103rd, Cairo from 125th to 128th and Casablanca from 113th to 114th.

Ana Nicholls, industry director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, a subsidiary of The Economist, said this year’s rankings are determined partly by the timings of the surveys compared with the lockdowns or social restrictions that are happening in many cities around the world.

“Compared with six months ago, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi scores have barely changed for most categories, including culture and the environment. For Abu Dhabi, its move up the rankings has been mainly the result of shifts in other countries, particularly in Europe, where many cities were in the middle of lockdowns in February-March. However, in Dubai we have seen more strain on the public healthcare system as a result of the pandemic, although it has gained some ground in other areas,” she added.

Globally, the global liveability score has fallen by seven points compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, the extent to which cities were sheltered by strong border closures, their ability to handle the health crisis and the pace at which they rolled out vaccination campaigns drove significant changes in the rankings