DUBAI: Dubai rose to seventh place in the latest Global Financial Centres Index, its highest position on record, as the emirate strengthened its standing among the world’s leading financial hubs. The ranking in GFCI 39, released on March 26, placed Dubai in the global top 10 after it stood 11th in the previous edition. The report also kept Dubai as the highest ranked centre in the Middle East and Africa region, ahead of Abu Dhabi, while New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore held the top four positions.
The official GFCI 39 report gave Dubai a score of 742, up four places in rank from the prior edition, with only Shanghai ahead of it among the centres that moved into the upper tier. The index said Dubai and Tokyo entered the top 10, while Chicago and Los Angeles dropped out. Compiled by Z/Yen Group, the report assessed 120 financial centres in the main index using 147 instrumental factors and 34,468 assessments submitted by 5,218 respondents to its online survey.
Dubai’s rise was accompanied by broader gains across sector categories measured in the index. Industry respondents ranked the city in the top 15 across all evaluated sectors for the first time, according to the official announcement tied to the ranking. Banking placed 14th, while finance, investment management and insurance were in the top 10. FinTech, government and regulatory, professional services, and trading all placed in the top five, reflecting a wider spread of competitiveness beyond headline rank.
Platform growth underpins ranking
The ranking was supported by continued expansion at Dubai International Financial Centre, the financial district at the core of the emirate’s international finance ecosystem. DIFC reported 8,844 active companies at the end of 2025, up 28 percent year on year, and said new active registrations rose 39 percent to 2,525. The centre also reported a workforce of 50,200 and said it remained home to 1,052 regulated firms, the largest regulated financial services ecosystem in the region by its count.
DIFC’s 2025 annual results also showed combined revenue of AED2.13 billion and net profit of AED1.48 billion, alongside continued growth in wealth management, family business structures and innovation-led firms. The centre said it hosted more than 500 wealth and asset management companies, 1,677 AI, FinTech and innovation entities, and 1,289 family-related entities. Those figures provide updated operating context for the GFCI result and show that the rise in rank came alongside larger scale in company numbers, employment and regulated activity.
D33 target remains central
The result aligns with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33, which includes a stated goal of positioning the emirate among the world’s top four global financial centres by 2033. Officials have repeatedly linked DIFC’s growth and Dubai’s performance in the GFCI to that target. In the latest ranking cycle, Dubai also remained among the world’s leading centres on business environment, financial sector development, human capital and infrastructure, according to the official announcement issued with the new placement.
For Dubai, the new ranking marks a measurable step higher in a benchmark followed by policymakers, investors and financial institutions to compare global centres on competitiveness and perception. The official data show that the city improved its global position while maintaining regional leadership and broadening its strength across multiple financial services segments. With the index now placing Dubai seventh worldwide, the emirate has moved further into the top tier of international financial centres in a result grounded in the latest survey and factor-based assessment cycle. – By Content Syndication Services.