(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Abu Dhabi was ranked the "most productive" economy and was chosen as one of 27 "cities of opportunity" by one of the world's leading accounting firms.
The UAE capital came ahead of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago for productivity in the annual report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, and the Partnership for New York City.
PwC's "Cities of Opportunities 2012" report has analysed the performance of 27 cities at the centre of finance, commerce and culture and studies the cities' potential by the year 2025. The ranking, which rates cities according to several criteria, also puts the UAE capital in the number one slot among emerging economies for the number of hospitals per head of population.
The report forecasts growth in employment rates towards 2025 in Abu Dhabi's 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 and by 2025 reaching 20.3 per cent, and the city's total business services will grow by nearly nine per cent," PwC said. "We have always perceived the UAE as a positive environment for growth and we have selected its capital, Abu Dhabi, as one of the 27 cities to be part of the Cities of Opportunity due to its position as a financial, commercial and cultural centre that continues on a path of growth and development," said Jacques Fakhoury, PwC Abu Dhabi senior partner.
"At PwC 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, with the city's productivity topping the chart ahead of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles." The report noted that with the highest number of hospitals per capita, Abu Dhabi is the top ranked emerging economy in the health, safety and security category, bringing it to a tie with Tokyo.
"It has surpassed Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid and Hong Kong for this indicator among developed economies. Abu Dhabi also reported the lowest crime rates, bringing it closer to Singapore and Hong Kong, economies that have fared very positively on low crime rates year on year," the report said.
The capital city also secured top performance in other key indicators including 6th ranking in the cost of business occupancy, ninth in consumer price index, 15th in the iPod index, and second lowest cost in public transport. "Abu Dhabi has resources that many cities don't have access to, and with the city's 2030 vision for a sustainable future, the Cities of Opportunities report cites great expectations for the city to improve on its current sustainability ranking," PwC said.
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