the latest Global Financial Centres Index<\/a>, released by Z\/Yen Partners in collaboration with the China Development Institute, also showed Riyadh gaining ground, with the capital rising 15 places to 46th globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cRiyadh has been more shielded than other Middle Eastern cities from the US-Iran conflict, displaying notable resilience to the disruption caused,\u201d Oxford Economics said in its latest report.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the past few decades, Riyadh has been the only city in the Middle East not to record an annual decline in GDP growth, Oxford Economics said, highlighting the trajectory created by diversification efforts, targeted investment and policymaking.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s overall score was driven by its performance in Human Capital, where it ranked fourth globally, and Economics, where it ranked 18th, according to Oxford Economics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Economic transformation\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hamza Dweik, head of trading for the Middle East and North Africa at Saxo Bank, said Riyadh\u2019s rise reflects the pace at which its economic profile is changing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeing is the result of several years of investment aimed at broadening the economic base, creating employment and increasing Riyadh\u2019s ability to attract businesses, capital, and skilled professionals,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thomas Kuruvilla, managing partner of Arthur D. Little Middle East & India, said Riyadh\u2019s entry into the top 50 marked an important milestone in the Kingdom\u2019s transformation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiyadh\u2019s rise demonstrates how national ambition is translating into tangible outcomes, creating momentum that can support the city\u2019s continued progress toward becoming one of the world\u2019s leading global cities,\u201d Kuruvilla told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the city\u2019s progress is increasingly visible across economic activity, employment, tourism, infrastructure and its ability to attract international businesses and talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tony Hallside, CEO of STP Partners, said Riyadh\u2019s rise reflected the scale and pace of its economic transformation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is particularly significant is the breadth of that growth, spanning infrastructure, tourism, technology and new industries, and the opportunities this is creating for businesses, investors and talent,\u201d Hallside said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riyadh is increasingly being viewed not only as a base for accessing opportunities across Saudi Arabia but also as a major regional business center in its own right, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jobs, population and non-oil growth\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anil Singh, chief business officer at TASC Outsourcing, said Saudi Arabia\u2019s workforce strategy has helped ensure that economic growth translates into opportunities for local talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSaudization, alongside investment in skills and private sector participation, has helped build a much larger base of Saudi professionals across industries that are expanding rapidly,\u201d Singh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riyadh\u2019s population increased from 6.7 million in 2021 to almost 8.6 million by the end of 2025, while tourism numbers more than doubled and about 3 million jobs were added, according to the report.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oxford Economics also highlighted the shift away from oil, with its contribution to Saudi Arabia\u2019s economy declining over the past two decades as non-oil sectors have expanded under Vision 2030.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, attributed Riyadh\u2019s growth to government leadership, financial management and the business environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiyadh has successfully built the core infrastructure and institutional frameworks that characterise globally competitive cities,\u201d Valecha said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Regional Headquarters Program has also helped strengthen Riyadh\u2019s position as a regional business hub, Oxford Economics said. The capital is now home to more than 700 international firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foreign-born residents account for just under 60 percent of Riyadh\u2019s population, according to the report, contributing to one of the youngest age profiles among major cities and strong population and employment growth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the city attracts greater private-sector participation and international capital, its position among the world\u2019s leading city economies is likely to strengthen further,\u201d said Hallside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outlook to 2050\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oxford Economics expects Riyadh to remain the Middle East\u2019s largest city economy by 2030. By 2050, the capital is projected to overtake Singapore and Osaka-Kyoto to become the world\u2019s 30th-largest city economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riyadh is also forecast to add more industrial jobs over the next 25 years than any other city in the index.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Together with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, the capital is expected to add more than 1.8 million business-services jobs between 2025 and 2050 \u2014 about 750,000 more than New York, London, Paris and Berlin combined.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next evolution of Riyadh as a global city will be reflected not only in its ability to attract people and investment, but also in its ability to create an environment where talent chooses to stay, innovate, build businesses and establish long-term roots,\u201d Kuruvilla said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s capital has entered the top 50 of the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":904123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,8011,46,27980,13341,68771,177169,13348],"class_list":["post-904122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economic-diversification","tag-economy","tag-riyadh","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-saudi-vision-2030","tag-urban-transformation","tag-vision-2030"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}