The Ministry of Community Empowerment and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre launched the Social Cohesion Index Survey on October 5 2026 in coordination with local statistical centres. The national effort targets citizens and residents throughout the seven emirates including family members and labour communities to build a complete picture of social ties. One core deliverable will be computation of an overall state-level cohesion index while the questionnaire tracks multiple related dimensions according to the official announcement carried by the Emirates News Agency.
The survey examines factors that include trust solidarity belonging shared values social bonds justice equality respect cooperation and tolerance the joint statement detailed. It also addresses networks and relationships as sources of strength stability and sustainability for the community. The initiative supplies reliable indicators that authorities can use to shape responsive policies programs and projects aimed at lifting quality of life and social stability the Ministry of Community Empowerment and the Competitiveness and Statistics Centre explained in their launch material.
Hanan Mansour Ahli director-general of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre described the project as one of the key national surveys that furnishes an integrated statistical instrument for observing social change. Ahli added that the exercise delivers dependable metrics to underpin decision-making and the creation of national policies and programmes. Its value stems from the breadth of coverage that reaches every segment of society in every emirate she stated in remarks published by WAM.
A GCC Statistical Centre report released in December 2025 ranked the UAE first in the region and seventh worldwide on social cohesion reflecting the robustness of its social fabric. The same document showed that government spending on social protection across Gulf Cooperation Council states ranged between 19.2 and 22.9 percent of total expenditure in 2022 underscoring priority investment in human development. These benchmarks provide context for the new survey which will generate updated UAE-specific measurements the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre figures indicate.
Earlier data from the Dubai Community Development Authority’s eighth social survey covering 2024-2025 recorded an average happiness score of 8.6 out of 10 and life satisfaction at 8.72 while family cohesion reached 95.3 percent. That emirate-level exercise spanned seven main axes including quality of life family ties social awareness inclusion financial wellbeing cultural values and digital life. Such preceding work illustrates the growing reliance on granular statistics to guide social planning across the country according to authority disclosures.
The current survey extends beyond Dubai to capture a truly federal view by incorporating responses from worker accommodations and diverse population groups that earlier local studies sometimes treated separately. Organisers expect the findings to help decision-makers adjust initiatives to evolving community needs and demographic shifts. Collection is under way with results scheduled for release once fieldwork and analysis conclude the Ministry of Community Empowerment and the Competitiveness and Statistics Centre noted in their joint statement.
