Hail Enters Global Smart City Arena, Debuts in IMD Index at 33rd

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 31-03-2026

4 min

Hail ranked 33rd of 148 cities in the IMD Smart City Index 2026.

The mid-sized city followed a clear framework across health, mobility and governance.

Officials linked digital services to “measurable outcomes” and residents’ daily lives.

The index weighs infrastructure, technology and citizens’ views on quality of life.

Hail’s debut supports Vision 2030, showing mid-sized cities can compete globally.

Hail has just put itself firmly on the global smart city map. The Saudi city ranked 33rd out of 148 cities worldwide in the IMD Smart City Index 2026, marking its first appearance in one of the most respected international benchmarks for urban development.

For a mid-sized city of around 500,000 people in northern Saudi Arabia, that’s no small feat. And believe it or not, Hail now sits alongside heavyweight global capitals in a ranking that many policymakers quietly obsess over.

The milestone follows a strategic push led by the Municipality of Hail, supported by advisory firm Mindsets, which worked with the city on building an integrated smart city framework. The approach was aligned with the IMD index’s five core pillars: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance. In simple terms, it wasn’t just about rolling out shiny tech. It was about tying different projects together under one clear structure, measuring performance properly, and making sure progress actually improves daily life for residents.

Dr Rayan Khraibani, CEO of Mindsets, said the ranking reflects “strategic clarity” combined with disciplined execution, adding that mid-sized cities can compete globally when they operate within the right framework. He credited the Municipality’s leadership and the people of Hail for the result.

I have to say, from our perspective at Arageek, this is the kind of development we like to see more of in the region. Too often, the smart city narrative focuses only on mega-projects in mega-cities. Hail’s entry into the index shows that transformation doesn’t have to be loud to be effective. Sometimes steady, structured progress is what really counts.

Under the adopted framework, Hail has expanded digital municipal services, strengthened healthcare and public safety systems, and invested in environmental sustainability. Economic opportunity has also been part of the equation. What stands out is the emphasis on measurable outcomes, linking digital tools directly to residents’ perceptions, a key feature of the IMD methodology.

The IMD Smart City Index, produced by the Smart City Observatory under the IMD World Competitiveness Center in Lausanne, works in collaboration with the Singapore University of Technology and Design and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation. It assesses cities based on two broad pillars: “Structures”, meaning physical infrastructure, and “Technology”, meaning digital services and solutions. Crucially, it captures citizens’ views on whether technology is actually improving their quality of life.

That citizen-centric lens is, in my opinion, spot on. Technology for technology’s sake can be a bit of a faff. If residents don’t feel safer, don’t move around more easily, or don’t find better opportunities, then what exactly is the point?

Hail’s profile makes the achievement even more interesting. The city is historically known as the cradle of Arab generosity and is home to the UNESCO-listed Rock Art in the Hail Region, with inscriptions dating back nearly 10,000 years. It’s also one of the Kingdom’s leading agricultural hubs, connected through an international airport and the national rail network. A place rooted in history, now leaning into digital transformation, that contrast is quite powerful.

With this ranking, Hail joins Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah, Al-Khobar and AlUla among Saudi cities featured in the index. The result also aligns closely with Saudi Vision 2030, particularly the Quality of Life Programme aimed at building more liveable cities across the Kingdom.

On the flip side, rankings are just that, rankings. They matter, yes, but what matters more is whether residents genuinely feel the change. That’s something that will unfold over time. Still, entering at 33rd place on the first attempt is definately not something to dismiss.

For startups and innovators across MENA reading Arageek, there’s a takeaway here. Urban transformation is no longer limited to global capitals. Mid-sized cities are becoming testing grounds for ideas in mobility, healthtech, digital governance and sustainable infrastructure. And that, I reckon, opens doors.

Hail’s rise may not dominate global headlines, but in the world of smart cities, this is quietly significant. Sometimes progress doesn’t shout. It simply gets on with the job, and ends up 33rd in the world.

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