The city of Riyadh maintained its position as the third smartest Arab city according to the IMD Index of Smart Cities in the World for the year 2023 AD, which was issued by the International Institute for Management Development, while the index entered this year for the first time in the cities of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, occupying the fourth position, and Jeddah ranked fifth, and Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah ranked seventh.
At the global level of the index, the city of Riyadh ranked 30th, Makkah ranked 52nd, Jeddah ranked 56th, and Madinah ranked 85th, out of 141 cities in the world.
The IMD Smart Cities Index focused on how residents perceive the scope and impact of efforts to make their cities smart, the extent to which a balance is achieved between economic and technical aspects while not neglecting the human dimensions, and the extent to which it contributes to bridging the gap between the aspirations and needs of residents and modern trends in building smart cities.
This indicator is one of the global indicators that assess the readiness of the world's cities. It is also a valuable tool for leaders, policy makers and researchers to evaluate the performance of smart cities and identify areas for improvement, as it provides a comprehensive framework for assessing cities across a set of dimensions, including economic and technical performance and governance measures.
National efforts from all sides, as well as the use of advanced technologies, have contributed to improving the ranking of Saudi cities in various sub-indicators, including the national platform for smart cities launched by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SADAIA).
The International Institute for Administrative Development (IMD) is one of the most prestigious institutes of business administration in the world, and an important reference for other international organizations and institutions for competitiveness between countries.
Okaz (Jeddah)