Cushman & Wakefield’s 2025 global data center market comparison has ranked Abu Dhabi and Dubai as the top two emerging data center markets in the world.
Based on 20 critical variables — including power availability, fiber connectivity, development pipeline and land pricing — the report positions Abu Dhabi at number one and Dubai at number two among 97 markets worldwide. These rankings reflect the success of the UAE’s coordinated infrastructure delivery, policy support and growing depth of occupier demand.
“There’s a clear link between long-term infrastructure planning and current market performance,” said Edward Macura, country head at Cushman & Wakefield Core, a commercial real estate services company in the UAE. “Abu Dhabi and Dubai have created the conditions for scale, and global operators are responding. Access to power, land and fast-track approvals are converging with demand from AI and cloud platforms — this combination is driving inve
