Dubai, UAE — August 2026 — Dubai topped the world ranking for new foreign direct investment projects in cultural and creative industries for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, according to Financial Times’ fDi Markets.
The emirate attracted 754 new projects, ahead of London, Singapore, Riyadh, and Bengaluru, out of 233 cities tracked. The sector drew $3.75 billion in capital inflows and created 19,304 jobs, with Dubai ranking second globally for FDI capital flows.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, credited flexible regulations, strong infrastructure, and an innovation-friendly business climate for sustaining investor confidence.
Growth spanned sub-sectors including advertising, software services, data processing, film and gaming, AI-driven creative tech, design, and performing arts. By capital flows, India led source countries. followed by the US, China, Malaysia, and the UK. By project count, the UK led, followed by India, the US, and France.
Officials, including Hilal Saeed Al Marri of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and Hala Badri of Dubai Culture, linked the results to strong public-private partnerships and alignment with the D33 economic agenda and Dubai’s Creative Economy Strategy.
Al Marri said Dubai’s fourth consecutive year atop the rankings affirms the success of the leadership’s forward-looking vision and reflects the strong confidence investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators worldwide place in the city.
He attributed the achievement to a dynamic ecosystem integrating creativity, advanced technology, and entrepreneurship, and noted that continued public-private collaboration is opening new opportunities in digital content, gaming, AI, design, and specialized creative services — supporting the goals of Dubai’s D33 economic agenda.
Badri said the results reflect the readiness and maturity of Dubai’s creative ecosystem and its flexibility in generating new economic opportunities for investors and the creative community, in line with the D33 agenda and Dubai’s Creative Economy Strategy.
She noted that Dubai’s supportive environment for talent and entrepreneurs has helped reinforce the emirate’s appeal as a preferred destination to live, work, and visit, and highlighted Dubai Culture’s efforts to foster collaboration among creatives and turn their projects into sustainable economic value.
