Dubai

Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

3
245/265
Details
Large apartment$2500.00
Medium apartment$2000.00
Rent index [score]0.21
Small apartment$1500.00

Cost of Living

5
144/248
Details
5km taxi ride$4.60
A Cappuccino$4.80
A beer$2.90
A kilogram of Apples$2.40
Bread$0.55
Inflation [score]0.55
Lunch$12.00
Monthly fitness club membership$100.00
Monthly public transport$72.00
Movie ticket$11.00
Price of a meal at a restaurant$68.29

Startups

7
36/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups17
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.65
Coworking spaces [score]0.61
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co12
Meetups [score]0.72
Meetups groups200
Meetups members107619
Number of investors203
Number of startup events in the last 12 months639
Number of upcoming meetup events28
Startup climate scene [score]0.65
Startup events74
Startup events [score]0.62
Startups [score]0.81
Total number of startups620

Venture Capital

4
58/192
Details
Funding accelerator namesSeedStartup, i360accelerator
Number of funding accelerators2
Venture capital [score]0.42

Travel Connectivity

5
74/266
Details
Airport hub215
Airport hub [score]0.90

Commute

4
208/255
Details
Traffic handling [score]0.45

Business Freedom

8
155/264
Details
Business freedom79.60
Business freedom [score]0.76
Freedom from corruption70.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.73
Lack of labor restrictions80.70
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.81
Time to open a business8.00
Time to open a business [score]0.92

Safety

9
19/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.95
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year1
Guns per 100 residents22
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.96
Lack of guns [score]0.88
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.92

Healthcare

6
181/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.63
Healthcare quality [score]0.69
Life expectancy (years)77.07
Life expectancy [score]0.62

Education

2
199/240
Details
Best university in rankingAmerican University of Sharjah
Best university ranking700
Country mean scores in PISA math test431.29
Country mean scores in PISA reading test441.70
Country mean scores in PISA science test448.37
PISA math ranking (high school)38
PISA ranking41
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.36
PISA reading (high school)35
PISA science (high school)37
Percent of happy students0.79
University quality [score]0.10

Environmental Quality

6
152/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.49
Cleanliness [score]0.85
Drinking water quality [score]0.55
Urban greenery [score]0.53

Economy

8
2/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area3.67
Currency for urban areaAED
GDP growth rate0.04
GDP growth rate [score]0.58
GDP per capita$64478.67
GDP per capita [score]1.00

Taxation

10
1/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]1.00
Income tax level [score]1.00
Profit tax (% of profit)0.16
Time overhead to file company taxes12

Internet Access

3
229/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)19.84
Internet access (download) [score]0.35
Internet access (upload) [score]0.28
Upload speed (Mbps)5.90

Leisure & Culture

5
190/264
Details
Art galleries119
Art galleries [score]0.72
Cinemas115
Cinemas [score]0.74
Comedy clubs27
Comedy clubs [score]0.87
Concert venues89
Concerts [score]0.47
Historical sites42
Historical sites [score]0.39
Museums48
Museums [score]0.55
Performing art venues103
Performing arts [score]0.47
Sport venues45
Sports [score]0.56
Zoos14
Zoos [score]0.88

Tolerance

5
211/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index23.96
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.21
LGBT adoption rights✖ Illegal
LGBT age of consentN/A
LGBT blood donation regulations✔ Legal
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT employment discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT gender changing rights✖ Illegal
LGBT homosexuality rightsMale illegal, female uncertain
LGBT housing discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT marriage rights✖ Not legal
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.87

Outdoors

6
41/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.18
Median peak in meters326.00
Presence of hills in city1.00
Presence of mountains in city1.00
Seaside access1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)8.00
Water access [score]0.98
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Dubai are in the 144th place of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly higher compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$2,100$3,000
$2500
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$100
Movie ticket$11
Broadband internet connection$79
Monthly public transport$72
Lunch$12
-30%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in Dubai

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in Dubai are above average. For this job type, Dubai ranks 108th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Dubai.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$48,605
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in Dubai

Locals review Dubai

Do locals recommend living in Dubai?

What could Dubai do better?#improveDubai

How could Dubai improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes.
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes Dubai a special place?#praiseDubai

Is Dubai a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Value added tax (VAT)

0%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

1/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

1/263
See more details on taxation in Dubai
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

22.10
Guns per 100 people
1.40
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts Dubai in position 16 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in Dubai

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in Dubai here
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People in Dubai

Population of Dubai

1,907,300
788 /km²
151/264
Density (people per unit of area)
12%
Growth in 2015-2020
Dubai

Demographics of United Arab Emirates

Median age
30
Elderly people
1%
Life expectancy at birth
78
GDP per capita (in USD)
$64,479
6/263
Unemployment
2%
8/264

Languages

Common spoken languages
Arabic

Friends living in Dubai

Find out which of your friends are living in Dubai. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  Dubai

Teleport users who are      Dubai

Work in:

Founder
8.28%
Software Engineer
7.28%
Marketing Manager
4.30%
Administrative Assistant
2.98%
Operations Manager
2.98%
Sales Manager
2.65%
Business Development
2.32%
Other
69.21%

Come from:

Climate

Average number of days per year without rain

337

Climate type

Tropical and Subtropical Desert

Average daily maximum temperature

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Impressions from Dubai

5:58 What to Do in Dubai | 36 Hours Travel Videos | The New York Times

A video by The New York Times

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On living in Dubai


Dubai (Arabic: دبي‎‎) is a cosmopolitan metropolis and global city on the Arabian Peninsula. One of the ten most popular tourist destinations in the world, it is developing rapidly in tourism and trade. It calls itself one of the more modern and progressive cities in the Middle East, but it has been severely criticized for the mistreatment of workers, especially those whose home countries are on the Subcontinent. Critics investigating the labor situation, including professor Andrew Ross, of New York University, which opened a campus in the UAE in 2014, have been barred from entry by the local authorities. Dubai is sometimes mistakenly thought of as a country, though it is part of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai is a commercial and cultural hub of the Middle East, it's a global transport hub, and has attracted world attention through many large innovative construction projects and sports events. The city is symbolised by its skyscrapers, including the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in addition to ambitious development projects including man-made islands, world class luxury hotels, and some of the largest and extraordinarily modern shopping malls in the world.

Read more

Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

United Arab Emirates
59th from a total of 163 countries

World Order

80th

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

154th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

64th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

51st

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

56th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

96th

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

24th

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

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