A 2025 ZeroBounce study identified the top 10 most digitized or “digitally dependent” cities globally. The study revealed Dubai as the world’s most “digitally dependent” metropolis, with Asian hubs setting new benchmarks in transportation digitization, and European cities excelling in hybrid work infrastructure. The research highlights critical advancements in digital health care access, smart parking systems, and real-time traffic management – pillars of modern urban efficiency.
“I think it’s extremely important in a digital age that folks have digital connectivity, digital skills, digital devices because it’s harder to even exist in society without these things,” said Jonathan Feldman, CIO at Wake County, North Carolina. “Studies out there show your house can be 4 to 6% more valuable if you have high-speed broadband,” he said.
For the study, ZeroBounce said it evaluated the internet speed (Speedtest Global Rank) of cities and their public Wi-Fi availability. ZeroBounce also considered online maintenance reporting systems, CCTV coverage, and pollution monitoring applications. The study also examined digital health care access, smart parking systems, and transportation infrastructure digitization. Real-time traffic information systems were also included. Each category was scored on a scale of 0-100, and a weighted average of these scores determined the final ranking.
The study highlights how integrated digital systems found in cities like Dubai and Shanghai show how integrated digital systems can streamline services and potentially create safer environments. With its first-place ranking at 79, Dubai, UAE, ranked as the most “digitally dependent” city. According to the study, Dubai has the highest CCTV camera presence and ranks second globally in internet speed performance. The city also ranks as one of the highest in online reporting of maintenance problems.
Shanghai, China, ranked second with a score of 71 and ranked highest in pollution monitoring, digitized transport infrastructure and online traffic information. Shanghai’s maintenance problem reporting system scores exceed Dubai’s. Seoul, South Korea, rounded out the top three, ranking 70. With its relatively high internet speeds, plentiful Wi-Fi availability, and CCTV coverage, Seoul outranked Dubai and Shanghai for digital nomads, the study found.
Digital Infrastructure is as Necessary as Physical Infrastructure
However, do the robust digital infrastructures in these cities translate into economic competitiveness for a region? Does it better foster smart manufacturing/industry 4.0 digital health care and attract more digital nomads? Paul Miller, vice president and principal analyst of smart manufacturing and future mobility at Forrester, says a strong digital infrastructure is essential. “Digital infrastructure is just as important as the physical kind, and they’re increasingly tightly interconnected,” he said.
As Miller explained, traditional power grids were designed and built to carry electricity in one direction: From a big power station to customers’ factories, offices and homes. On the other hand, modern power grids rely on IoT sensors, AI, and advanced analytics to cope with far more complexity. Today, Miller said, those big power stations work alongside intermittent supply from wind farms, solar panels, hydro or batteries. “One moment, power is flowing into an office building from the grid, but then the sun comes out, and that office building sends surplus power from its rooftop solar panels in the opposite direction. That needs physical infrastructure – cables, transformers, capacitors – to work. Still, it also needs the digital infrastructure to quickly and cost-effectively calculate which way power should be sent and what the implications might be for the stability of the surrounding grid,” he said.
Further, modern rail networks use sensors on trains beside the track to attain a more accurate picture of where trains are and where they’re going. “This allows track managers to run trains closer together and get more use from their investment in the track network itself. In more controlled environments, such as usually urban railways and subways, where access to the track can be strictly controlled, those same digital infrastructure technologies underpin near- or fully autonomous operation. Subway lines in cities like Copenhagen, Delhi or Paris carry paying passengers on trains with no human driver,” he said.
Digital Health Care Access Boosts Outcomes
“This infrastructure not only improves transportation and public safety but also enhances access to essential services like health care and digital governance,” said Brian Minick, chief operating officer at ZeroBounce. Dubai’s second-place global internet speed (79/100) and robust online maintenance reporting systems suggest strong telehealth foundations. At the same time, Seoul’s 4.47 digital nomad score – higher than Shanghai (3.92) and Dubai (4.01) – correlates with its comprehensive public Wi-Fi network, a key enabler for mobile health services. “If you can easily access medical care and telemedicine, of course, your [health] outcomes are better,” Feldman said.
The Economist Group’s 2022 Digital Cities Index ranking found broad application of digital health tools in urban settings. The DCI measured city health care performance by analyzing the presence and use of telehealth and telemedicine services, electronic health records, and pandemic-related applications. Most cities scored quite well. The Economist Group then cited New York as one of the global top digital health performers. “The city’s efforts in recent years include a state-wide digital health accelerator program, digital health offerings from its top institutions such as the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and specific programs like the diabetes-prevention initiative for adults which uses virtual health tools to enhance reach, convenience and engagement. Reviews indicate that the program has reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes in high-risk individuals by 58%. The New York State Department of Health is also facilitating the sharing of electronic health records across regional networks,” their report states.
According to ZeroBounce, with a score of 52, New York City ranks 9th in 2025 and is the only North American city to make the Top 10 list. The analysis found NYC’s CCTV coverage to be about double that of Amsterdam’s (57.2 vs. 35.4), undoubtedly due to NYC being one of the top terror targets globally. While Dallas didn’t make the list, that city proved a trendsetter during the COVID-19 pandemic when the city launched an AI-powered chatbot, Dalbot, that responds to and guides residents on City-business needs and services, and is just one example of urban innovation to grow from the pandemic.
According to The Economist Group’s analysis, Singapore’s SingPass app and New Delhi’s Aadhaar-integrated services demonstrate how digital IDs became pandemic lifelines and found an 84% resident adoption rate.
Government Infrastructure and e-Services
Considering traffic-related e-services, ZeroBounce’s analysis found Singapore’s smart parking systems anchor its 5th-place ranking (65), featuring complete public Wi-Fi coverage and CCTV surveillance to guide drivers. New York City (52) employs smart parking tech, achieving 57.2.
The Chinese megacity Shanghai’s maintenance reporting system (84.5) outperforms Dubai by 8%, while Stockholm (51) leads Europe with 70 transport digitization points, leveraging its 15th-ranked global internet speed. “Cities like Dubai and Shanghai show how integrated digital systems can streamline services and create safer environments,” Minick said.
Finally, Copenhagen’s top ranking (85.4) stems from its IoT-powered traffic management and waste systems, while Singapore’s nationwide 5G rollout and digital ID systems position it as Asia’s connectivity leader.
“Governments are pushing a lot of services online, and it’s improving access and quality of service,” Feldman added. “The state of North Carolina does a fabulous job with the DMV. I don’t go to the DMV to renew my tag. I go online. I talk to a chatbot, and they securely take my money while I get what I need.”
European cities have emerged as top destinations for digital nomads. Barcelona and Amsterdam stand out, boasting the highest digital nomad scores among all analyzed cities. Barcelona takes the lead, while Amsterdam follows closely. “Attracting digital nomads can’t help but boost a regions economic health,” added Feldman.
Forrester’s Miller adds that small and mid-sized businesses may benefit the most from these digital initiatives. While the largest civil engineering projects, such as a new international airport, a new city, a new mine, and so forth, will normally have the capability to build or procure whatever digital infrastructure they need, smaller businesses – and their employees – benefit from digital infrastructure investments into the areas where they operate,’ he explained “Those businesses need someone else to have built the roads, laid the drains, and timetabled the buses their physical operations depend upon. They also need someone else to have run the fiber-optic cable and erected the cell towers their digital operations depend upon.”
