Dubai, Abu Dhabi among top 10 'most attractive cities for digital talent'

A new global study that ranks the world's most 'attractive cities for digital talent' has placed Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the top 10.

Dubai took the sixth position, while Abu Dhabi stepped in at nine, in the study by Boston Consulting Group and The Network, which looked at most appealing global cities that digital workers are keen to relocate to. 

London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Berlin and Tokyo made it to the top 5 after the 9,864 workers in digital fields were surveyed and analysed.

The rankings were determined by the percentage of respondents willing to move to each city.

#Dubai among top 10 'Most Attractive Cities for Digital Talent' list, according to Boston Consulting Group. pic.twitter.com/Gz1qTrG6Lm

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 10, 2021

Here's the top 30:

1. London
2. Singapore
3. Amsterdam
4. Berlin
5. Tokyo
6. Dubai
7. New York
8. Sydney
9. Abu Dhabi
10. Barcelona
11. Melbourne
12. Los Angeles
13. Toronto
14. Vancouver
15. Zurich
16. Kuala Lumpur (new entrant)
17. Paris
18. San Fransisco
19. Beijing (new entrant)
20. Silicon Valley
21. Hong Kong
22. Vienna
23. Copenhagen
24. Seoul (new entrant)
25. Munich
26. Brussels
27. Geneva
28. Stockholm
29. Oslo (new entrant)
30. Montreal

The study also revealed that digital workers increasingly embrace flexibility in where and when work gets done, correspondingly paving the way for openness to virtual mobility – with 68 per cent of digital workers willing to work remotely for a company based in a different country.

The survey also observed that:

• As many as 40 per cent of employees working in digital fields are actively job hunting, and nearly 75 per cent are expecting to leave their current role in the near future.
• The opportunity to advance their careers is the main driver for technology employees looking to switch roles (63 per cent), followed by looking for new challenges (49 per cent).
• For digital employees, having a good work-life balance continues to be the most valued aspect of their job.