Abu Dhabi closed its first Liveability and Investment Exhibition, LIVEX 2026, at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi on 1 October. Behind three days of projects and announcements sat one question: how does a capital growing at this pace keep living in Abu Dhabi comfortable and modern for the people arriving every year?
The answer matters to you whether you live in the capital, plan to move there, or run a business anywhere in the UAE. It starts with the numbers.
A capital growing faster than its homes
Abu Dhabi reached 4,135,985 residents in 2024, up 7.5 per cent in a single year, according to the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi. The emirate added close to 290,000 people in twelve months. More than half of all residents are aged 25 to 44, the years when people build careers, start families and look for a home.
Housing grew more slowly. The emirate’s stock rose 3.9 per cent over the same year, to 783,970 units. A younger and larger population needs more homes, schools, clinics, parks and transport, and it needs them close to where people work.
LIVEX set out how the government plans to meet this demand.
The plan for modern living
The exhibition grouped its projects under six themes: liveability, culture, education, economy, energy and health. Organisers put the combined value of announced projects and initiatives above AED 100 billion.
The largest single programme is the second phase of Abu Dhabi’s Lifestyle Strategy, with AED 42 billion for new projects. The first phase delivered more than 60 projects worth AED 12 billion. Beneath these sits the infrastructure every new neighbourhood depends on. The Department of Energy plans AED 250 billion over ten years for power, water and district cooling.
These figures describe plans and commitments, so their delivery dates will tell you more than the headline totals.
Liveability carries weight beyond comfort. It shapes where companies choose to open, and companies bring the jobs.
Where the jobs come from
Two UAE cities rank among the world’s top 15 financial centres in the Global Financial Centres Index, published in September. Dubai sits ninth and Abu Dhabi thirteenth, and the two hold the top places across the Middle East and Africa.
The ranking shows up in people. The workforce across Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands, home to Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre ADGM, reached 49,027 by mid 2026. Funds managed from ADGM rose to 276, up from 209 a year earlier.
New sectors follow the established ones. Together AI, a San Francisco company which helps businesses build and run AI tools on open source models, will open an office in Abu Dhabi. The move follows Mubadala’s USD 100 million investment in the company in July. Each arrival of this kind adds specialist roles to the local job market.
December brings the next wave of visitors. Abu Dhabi Finance Week returns from 7 to 10 December with 75 events across eight stages, including a new Abu Dhabi Real Estate Summit. If you work in finance, property or technology, the week puts global decision makers in one place in the UAE.
Every new employer adds people looking for a place to live, and the housing market responds across every budget. At the top end, branded residences give buyers a home with hotel service attached.
Abu Dhabi branded residences
For the first time, you can buy a branded residence inside Rosewood Abu Dhabi. Mubadala releases 73 completed residences on Al Maryah Island in Q4 2026. Owners get access to the hotel’s restaurants, including Majlis by Pierre Hermé, Dai Pai Dong and Hidden Bar, plus Sense, A Rosewood Spa, a temperature controlled pool and a 24 hour gym. Concierge, valet and security come with ownership. Housekeeping, private dining and butler service come on request at extra cost.
Sterling Capital Real Estate, a Dubai brokerage specialising in premium and branded residences, works with the buyers who choose this lifestyle: frequent travellers, senior executives and families keeping a second home in the UAE, who want hotel service without running a household.
Mubadala has not yet published prices. The residences share the island with The Galleria mall and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, placing shopping and healthcare within the same few streets.
Yas Island adds a second branded address. At LIVEX, Steppe Capital signed a joint venture to develop JW Marriott Residences Abu Dhabi Yas Island, beside the island’s theme parks, beaches and Formula 1 circuit.
Homes are one part of the picture. Every new resident also creates daily demand for the businesses around them.
Opportunities for small and large businesses
Close to 290,000 new residents in a year need everything modern living depends on: schools, clinics, gyms, cafés, childcare and home services. Small businesses serve this daily demand directly, from a neighbourhood bakery to a fitness studio or a cleaning company. Large companies read the same numbers at scale and respond with offices, residential towers, hotels and retail.
Investors now have a direct route in. The new Government Asset Investment Service on the TAMM platform takes you from spotting a government land or building opportunity to signing the contract, with standard terms and set pricing.
Whether you run a two person business or advise a multinational, living in Abu Dhabi today puts you inside a market growing at this pace. Over the coming months, watch the Rosewood prices, the first contracts signed through TAMM and how fast the Lifestyle Strategy projects open to the public.
