The Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi announced the results of the fourth edition of its Quality-of-Life survey, which aims to measure quality of life indicators for all members of society across various demographics.
The survey serves as a unique platform facilitating communication with the community to understand their views in line with internationally recognised methodologies. The DCD uses the survey to identify social challenges and conduct analyses to inform the development and implementation of policies, programs, and initiatives. The overarching goal is to elevate the quality of life and enhance social services of all members of Abu Dhabi society. Notably, the questionnaire saw the participation of 92,576 individuals representing more than 160 nationalities. The results underscored the stability within Abu Dhabi society, with an overwhelming 93.6% of participants expressing a sense of security and safety.
This survey marks the fourth edition, following three previous rounds that engaged around 300,000 citizens and residents, allowing them to actively voice their opinions on key social matters and the overall quality of life in the emirate. The DCD is also proud to announce the commencement of the fifth edition of the survey, underscoring its commitment to ongoing monitoring of the emirate's quality of life. The initiative seeks to analyse current and anticipated challenges, with a primary objective of crafting strategies, policies, and initiatives. These efforts aim to establish a pioneering and distinguished social system, dedicated to ensuring a decent quality of life for all members of society.
His Excellency Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of the Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi, confirmed that the DCD, since its establishment, has adopted the best internationally approved methodologies for formulating policies, strategies and plans in the short and long-term. Additionally, it has been keen to identify the aspirations of the emirate’s residents and the social challenges they face.
From this standpoint, the DCD launched a quality of life survey based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) indicators, which is applied in 38 countries around the world.
His Excellency said: “Over the course of four rounds, the results of the survey confirmed the excellence Abu Dhabi has shown in many key indicators such as security and digital quality of life. Additionally, it has shown a number of social priorities that require the strengthening of cooperation between entities and partners in a way that serves all segments of society. Over the past few years, we have launched many strategies, initiatives and policies based on the results of the questionnaire.”
His Excellency stressed that the launch of the fifth edition of the survey is an affirmation of the department’s endeavour to establish a safe, stable and prosperous society, ensuring a promising future for future generations. The role of the survey is not only limited to collecting the opinions of participants but goes beyond that to involve community members in drawing up strategies, policies, programs and initiatives that aim to enhance the lifestyle in Abu Dhabi, as they are a major partner in shaping a better future for the emirate.
For her part, Her Excellency Engineer Shaikha Alhosani, Executive Director of the Social Monitoring and Innovation Sector at DCD, said: “The Quality of Life survey is an important step towards drawing a clear map of the quality of life in Abu Dhabi, and providing a general overview of the issues that concern society, in addition to identifying areas of improvement in various aspects of life. The survey is one of the methodologies aimed at continuously identifying the challenges facing society, as it provides accurate information and statistics on which the DCD relies on to improve work mechanisms and develop social policies and strategies through sustainable and successful solutions.”
She added: “The Quality of Life survey is in line with the department’s vision and strategy in defining a clear path to enhance the quality of life in Abu Dhabi, and provide a comprehensive overview of the current challenges facing society, in line with government directives on increasing the rates of happiness and satisfaction of citizens and residents with life in the emirate. It highlights the importance of the results extracted from the survey to help the department and its strategic partners from the relevant authorities in the social and governmental sectors to develop a series of recommendations and initiatives that will enhance the social development process pursued by the emirate.”
Remarkable Results
The Quality of Life survey was designed to measure key performance indicators within the social services sector in Abu Dhabi. Its primary objectives include monitoring and enhancing the quality of life across various dimensions. The survey also plays a crucial role in pinpointing priority social issues that necessitate intervention from relevant authorities. Additionally, it seeks to capture the community's assessment of the axes of social and economic well-being among various segments of the population and measure the level of awareness among community members regarding specific social issues.
The survey included 14 main indicators that were developed based on the results of previous editions, covering: housing, job opportunities and revenue, family income and wealth, work-life balance, health, education and skills, personal security and safety, social relations, civic participation and governance, environmental quality, social and cultural cohesion, social and community service, quality of life, digital happiness, and well-being.
Several important results were revealed through the survey, as it included the very important axis of security and safety. The satisfaction rate of the participants, who confirmed that they felt safe and had no problem when walking alone at night, was 93.6%, indicating that Abu Dhabi enjoys a safe and stable environment.
Meanwhile, 75.4% of participants in the social relations index indicated that they could rely on relatives and friends when needed. As for the axis of satisfaction with family time, participants who were happy with the amount of quality time they spent with the family was 73%.
Under the housing index, 70.6% of participants expressed being satisfied with their current housing, and the level of satisfaction with quality of life reached 6.94 on a scale of 0-10. The happiness level within the population experienced a slight increase from the 7.63 points recorded in the previous survey, rising to 7.69 points in the current edition.
In terms of satisfaction with family income, 34.3% of participating heads of households expressed satisfaction or complete satisfaction with their family income. Additionally, 64.7% of employed participants conveyed job satisfaction.
These survey findings play a crucial role in supporting the initiatives of the DCD, striving to cultivate an innovative social system where all segments, groups and individuals of society experience inclusion, leading to a decent, safe and stable life. The vision is to build a distinguished society and pave the way for a promising future for future generations.
The Quality of Life index is based on a global model and concept applied by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to help analyse and improve life quality in all its dimensions. The results are analysed and compared with the results of a number of countries around the world, which consider the quality of life as a fundamental pillar in the growth and development of a nation. These countries include USA, Britain, Finland, Norway, France, and Italy, and the comparison is done to identify the activities and best practices in important social fields and to achieve a strong position among the indices of global competitiveness.