Fourth Quarter | 2025

Families are a marker of a healthy city. The average tenure of an expatriate in Dubai is lengthening, and family growth is outpacing population growth. These two trends are linked, and together they suggest the city is evolving from a place to make money into a place to stay. Most analysis of Dubai's growth focuses on how many people are arriving. We are more interested in why fewer are leaving. This year's Think Piece examines the demographic shift toward long-term families putting down roots, and why this matters more than headline population growth. Many Dubai companies, including utilities, banks, telecoms and property developers, benefit from population growth. The quality of that growth matters as much as the quantity. A city of long-term residents is a different proposition from one with high turnover, and we do not think the market has priced the distinction.