Mohamad Issa

Why Dubai

A market built for investors.

• Role Model CityUnited Nations recognitionNamed a resilience Role Model City by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Recovery here is designed, not improvised.
• 79.4%Non-oil share of UAE GDP, Q1 2026The UAE has grown through every shock since 2008, with only two contractions in eighteen years.
• No. 1Wealth mobility, 2026The UAE attracts more mobile wealth than any other country, scoring 85.3 out of 100, ahead of Singapore.
• 3 of 5Of the world's safest cities are in the UAEAbu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah rank in Numbeo's 2025 top five. Dubai scores 83.8.
• 0%Income, capital gains and property taxVAT is 5% and corporate tax 9%. The return you earn is the return you keep.
• 406 kmHabshan to Fujairah pipelineUAE crude reaches world markets without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

• 19.6MInternational overnight visitors, 2025Up every year since 2022, with 81% hotel occupancy and 95.2 million airport passengers.
• 75%Of the world within an eight-hour flightConnectivity is why people and businesses keep arriving, and why they stay.
• 2×Population growth every decadeFrom 370,786 residents in 1985 to 4.58 million in 2025, with no decade below 85% growth.
• +332,100New residents in 2025And 157,429 more in the first half of 2026, against about 39,700 homes handed over in 2025.
• 70%Of the Fortune 500 run their region from DubaiA business can be set up in about four days. 71,830 new companies joined Dubai Chamber in 2025.
• 10 yearsGolden Visa from AED 2 million in propertyResidency for the whole family. A two-year investor visa has no minimum for a sole buyer.

• AED 2,020Average price per sq ft, Jan to Aug 2026Holding above the AED 1,957 of the same months in 2025.
• +3.2%Price per sq ft, year on yearDubai property has recovered from every downturn in its history.
• AED 196bnResidential sales, Jan to Aug 2026Across 96,616 transactions, at a median price of AED 1.3 million.
• +100%Recovery after the 2008 crisisPrices fell 50%, then doubled from 2010 to 2014. After a 10% dip in 2020, they rose 60% by 2022.

• +70%Transaction growth targeted by 2033Three government plans, one direction: the 2040 Urban Master Plan, Agenda D33 and the Real Estate Strategy 2033.
• AED 300bnIndustry's target share of UAE GDP by 2031Operation 300bn: every factory brings jobs, residents and demand for homes.
• 55%Of residents within 800 m of a main station by 2040With 60% of the emirate kept as nature reserves, across five urban centres.
• 13%Of the urban footprint still available to buildLand is allocated by plan, so new supply cannot flood the market.
• 2032Dubai rail network planMetro lines, Etihad Rail and air taxis: infrastructure arrives ahead of demand, not behind it.
• 80 kmA new fourth corridor, approved September 2026Twelve lanes from Abu Dhabi to Sharjah via Al Maktoum Airport, opening new land for growth.

Sources: FCSC, Dubai Statistics Centre, DET, DLD, Emirates Business, Henley & Partners, Numbeo, ICP, ADNOC, dubai2040.ae. Not financial or tax advice.