Top Arab Cities 2010
By Trends • Jun 1st, 2010Abu Dhabi ranked second and is assertively progressing in tourism development by investing huge amounts into the industry. It has also recently begun to stand out in international cultural activities with projects such as Saadiyat Island. And it has hosted major sports competitions such as the Formula One Grand Prix and the FIFA Club’s World Cup.
Education plays a key role in economic growth and is a solution to the obstacles facing development and a basis for progress and integration in the world economy. We therefore used this indicator to rank Top Arab Cities, which acknowledge that, more than any other time, education is a priority in their economic policies and programs. This is illustrated by the increase of expenditure in this sector. According to a study released by the Madar Center for Studies, the volume of education expenditure reached $26 billion in the GCC countries last year.
To be able to determine the Top Arab City in education, we calculated the performance of each city using the following indicators: enrollment in basic education, GNP/expenditure ratio on education, enrollment in higher education, quality of educational system, internet dissemination in schools, classification of literacy ratio, and availability of specialized training and research centers.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha shared the first position in education as they are witnessing a global educational revival and pioneering initiatives in this vital sector. They are undisputedly taking the lead.
Amman held fourth position, outranking all cities in the ratio of higher education enrollment, followed by Tunis, which ranked second based on the quality of its educational system, then Manama and finally Khartoum, which lagged behind in all indexes with the exception of the literacy ratio, in which it preceded Casablanca and Rabat.
By unveiling the results of this, the fourth annual report on Top Arab Cities, this study is aimed at bolstering competitiveness among Arab cities, nurturing the spirit of development, and pushing for modernization in the various business sectors. We’ve achieved the highest levels of accuracy and objectivity in the evaluations we used, and we wish more success and prosperity for all cities in the future. Cities can be great places.
