Public Policy Document

Launched in 2023, the UAE Policy of Urbanization Degree and Administrative Classification aims at establishing a unified definition of cities, urban and rural areas to be used as per the same global standards for delineation, to provide internationally comparable statistical information and measure progress towards the sustainable development goals in both urban and rural areas.

This policy plays a key role in facilitating the decision-making process and provides decision-makers with data and stats on urban areas, population size and density, and services. It also aims to standardize the terminology related to urban data at the National level, to ensure standardization of relevant data used in international statistics.
 

1. Establish a unified definition of cities, urban and rural areas that can be used nationwide based on the same global standards for delineation.
2. Provide accurate data for important international reports and classifications to measure the UAE's competitive performance within the framework of its development strategy in line with the country's vision.
3. Acquire internationally comparable statistical information.
4. Measure progress towards the sustainable development goals in both urban and rural areas.
5. Measure population clusters directly instead of by proxy through building clusters.
6. Monitor access to services and infrastructure in urban and rural areas nationwide.
    

1. Cooperate with relevant urban planning authorities in the UAE. 
2. Communicate with relevant authorities in charge of urban planning statistics to provide the necessary data to achieve the policy’s objectives.
3. Add the urban planning data collected from local authorities and statistical bodies to the Geographic Information System (GIS).
4. Share the policy with relevant urban planning authorities in the UAE and explain the new administrative classification mechanism and methods.
5. Share the policy’s outcomes with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre to be subsequently shared with international organizations. 
    

1. Provide highly accurate data to international organizations tasked with drafting important international reports and classifications, to measure the UAE's competitiveness as part of its development strategy.
2. Measuring indicators related to the Sustainable Development Goals, wherein an estimated two-thirds of the 169 targets underpinning the Sustainable Development Goals can be measured and analyzed with respect to cities, urban and rural areas to help guide and shape sustainable development policies and support the achievement of the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
3. Adopt an inclusive and consistent planning approach in the provision of facilities and other requirements across the various Emirates.
    

Federal Government Entities, urban planning authorities, and statistics authorities.