Riyadh rose 47 places to rank 50th worldwide among 1,000 cities across 163 countries in Oxford Economics' 2026 Global Cities Index, after placing 118th in 2024 and 97th in 2025; the index scores cities on five pillars and 27 sub-indicators covering economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance.
Moving from 118th to 50th in two years reflects both strong performance and city improvement. Companies considering a regional headquarters should highlight this in their internal proposals, as boards typically accept such external rankings without question.
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Six quarters down
Tadawul Group Q2 profit −4% to SR92M, sixth straight annual decline, while data services grew 13.7%.
An exchange earning less in a market this active is a warning about volumes, the thin tape has landed in someone's earnings.
School fees hit the card data
Point-of-sale spending fell 2.8% to SR14.19 billion ($3.79 billion) in the week ended 15 August across 249.68 million transactions, down 1.5%, while education transactions jumped 62.7% week on week to SR446.08 million. Food and beverages led at SR2.2 billion, down 3.7%, and Riyadh accounted for SR4.84 billion across 79.80 million transactions.
The 62.7% increase in education spending, despite a 2.8% overall decline, reflects a calendar effect rather than increased consumer confidence. Households shifted funds rather than increasing total spending.
