Updated November 10, 2026. Indicative score. Weights: entertainment 11.73% (destinations and venues within 50 km); bars 3.73%; safety 15% with a penalty; water at country level; land price per m² = official source (ITBI, Terracap, registries, valuations) or listings with a caveat · coverage 100%
Dubai has an indicative score of 7.17/10 in the World ranking of Onde Viver Bem, updated November 10, 2026. The strongest published variables are Airport (10.00), Beach / mountains (10.00) and Sun (10.00); the weakest are Clean air (0.00), Bars (3.54) and Mild climate (3.92). The scores are indicative. Cost of living and the land price per m² are not part of the score. Some figures on this page are estimates and carry the “estimated” badge.
safety: undetermined-intent deaths estimated from the national ratio; safety: unofficial source (press citing the police); safety: feeling of safety at national level only (Gallup); estimated: robbery (median of comparable cities)
DLD (Dubai Land Department) — median of residential land sales, Jan–Oct 2026 · source
Collected November 10, 2026 · exchange rate AED 3.6725 per US$ (ExchangeRate-API (open.er-api.com), Tue, 10 Nov 2026 00:02:31 +0000)
Note: Dominated by plots in freehold planned communities (Madinat Hind 4 = 30% of the sample). The DLD classifies some villa plots as 'Land', so some sales may include buildings. Non-freehold plots (Emiratis only): median AED 6,277/m².
Score breakdown
Each criterion's score, its weight in the total and the raw figure, linked to its source.
raw: 1.27 per 100k pop. · 40% violent deaths (log 30→0, 0.5→10 per 100k) + 30% city robbery ÷ country average (log 5×→0, 0.5×→10) + 30% share who feel safe at night (lin 30%→0, 95%→10); any part without data: weights renormalized
Composite safety: violent deaths 1.3 per 100k → 7.7 (weight 40%) · ESTIMATED robbery 2.13× the country average (median of comparable cities; range 1.67–3.91×) → 3.7 (weight 30%) estimated · 90.0% feel safe walking alone at night (United Arab Emirates (national), 2024) → 9.2 (weight 30%).
Estimate: ESTIMATE (not a measurement): no local robbery statistic collected. City÷country ratio = median of the 29 cities with measured robbery outside Brazil (all of them, no city-states) (2.13×; P25–P75 range 1.67–3.91×). Base: Buenos Aires 2.27, Córdoba 3.31, Mendoza 3.16, Toronto 1.24, Lausanne 4.65, Copenhague 2.50, Barcelona 5.58, Madri 1.80, Málaga 1.06, Oviedo 0.38, Valência 2.03, Bordeaux 4.89, Estrasburgo 1.67, Lille 4.52, Marselha 3.98, Nice 1.26, Rennes 2.71, Atenas 2.16, Dublin 2.10, Roma 1.63, Kuala Lumpur 1.85, Amsterdã 3.91, Cidade do Panamá 1.80, Braga 0.67, Lisboa 4.50, Porto 4.50, Miami 1.58, Orlando 1.90, Montevidéu 2.13.
raw: 5.0 km · beach: distance log 5 km→10, 150 km→0; mountains: richness of nature leisure (mean of the top 3 of 4 counts, 50 km) × access (1 up to 15 km → 0 at 150 km, log), 0 with no relief; score = min(10, max(beach, mountains) + 0.3·min)
raw: Average of two mapping sources, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (Overture count ÷ K, K = median Overture/OSM ratio across the 39 cities: 2.57 within 2 km, 3.41 in the municipality); each source: 50% log1p(count within 2 km), 1000→10 + 50% log1p(per 10k pop.), 30→10. Brazil: 50% of that score + 50% log1p(CNPJ per 10k pop. ÷ K), 30→10
raw: Average of two mapping sources, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (Overture count ÷ K, K = median Overture/OSM ratio across the 39 cities: 2.48 within 2 km, 3.20 in the municipality); each source: 50% log1p(count within 2 km), 500→10 + 50% log1p(per 10k pop.), 10→10. Brazil: 50% of that score + 50% log1p(CNPJ per 10k pop. ÷ K), 10→10
raw: 28.0 count of OSM objects · log1p(count), 150→10
The city
Dubai is the largest city of the United Arab Emirates and of the emirate of the same name. The Emirate of Dubai lies on the Persian Gulf coast and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Dubai is the most populous of the seven, with about 2,262,000 inhabitants. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, in Asia. The municipality is often called Dubai City to distinguish it from the emirate. The city is known worldwide for its highly developed economy, its huge skyscrapers and its wide avenues.
English rendering of the Portuguese Wikipedia summary linked below. Source: wikipedia_pt. Wikipedia revision 72514005 (2026-06-27T08:44:16Z).
Taxation
DLD registration fee: 4% of the sale price (2% seller + 2% buyer, per the DLD page) + fixed fees (e.g. AED 250 title deed; AED 4,000 + service-partner VAT if ≥ AED 500k). Base: sale value. No annual residential property tax equivalent to Brazil's IPTU was collected here. Checked on Nov 9, 2026: the DLD page lists 'Seller: 2% / Buyer: 2%'; the custom of the buyer paying the full 4% was not verified in an official source. Dubai Land Department — Property Sale Registration
Frequently asked questions
What is the Onde Viver Bem score for Dubai?
Dubai has an indicative score of 7.17/10 in the World ranking, updated November 10, 2026. Cost of living is not part of the score.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the score for Dubai?
The strongest published variables are Airport (10.00), Beach / mountains (10.00) and Sun (10.00); the weakest are Clean air (0.00), Bars (3.54) and Mild climate (3.92).
Does cost of living or the land price per m² enter the score?
No. Cost of living and the land price per m² appear on the page but are not part of the score. See the methodology.
How is the score calculated?
It is an indicative 0–10 quality-of-life index, with 13 variables and published weights. Safety has a 15% weight and, when local data exist, a lethal-violence penalty may cap the total. The full method is on the methodology page.
Are any figures on this page estimates?
Yes. Some values are documented estimates, labelled with the “estimated” badge in the technical notes. The method is explained in the Estimates section.
Informational content and indicative scores. This is not advice on investing, immigration, buying property or choosing a career. Every metric cites its source; cost of living is not part of the score.
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