The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Smart Cities Index for 2021 has ranked Riyadh as the third smartest city among the capitals of G20 member states and the 30th smartest city globally.
It jumped 23 ranks from last year to the 3rd rank, outperforming great cities such as Los Angeles, Madrid, Hong Kong, and Paris. Madinah has been also included on the index as the second Saudi city after Riyadh, as it ranked 73rd globally and 4th in the Arab world, ahead of great historical cities.
Riyadh’s remarkable progress is the second of its kind among the G20 countries after South Korean capital, Seoul, and the 3rd largest in the world, as a result of the great improvements being witnessed by the Kingdom’s capital on 34 indicators in all fields.
The achievements rely on the leaps in the fields of digital transformation, smart applications of artificial intelligence, development projects and sophisticated infrastructure made in the cities of Riyadh and Madinah in order to improve the well-being and offer a high degree of luxury and a good quality of life to citizens, residents, and visitors.
This is in addition to speed and flexibility in processing digital government transactions and digital identity services, ease of starting new businesses and reducing waiting times, and the great role they played in raising health and safety indicators, especially during COVID-19.
The new classification comes to translate the support being provided by Saudi Arabia’s leadership to the digital transformation programs in the country as part of the goals of achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
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