I think social life of all these places are somewhat similar.As far economic development is concerned Dubai scores over other places.Reason being fast development,big projects and rich hotel industry.
Dubai is the tourist attraction, although Abu Dhabi is the capital. I used to live in Abu Dhabi and frequently visited Dubai. They are both beautiful places. Of course Dubai is way more commercialized because it is a tourist attraction and a lot of money is spent on making the place look good. Does anyone think Dubai is way too commercialized?
I think Dubai is the most developed and most touristy of all the 7 emirates. The other six: Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah pale in comparison despite having larger land area, oil and natural reserves.
Because or despite its relative lack of natural resources, Dubai has successfuily diversify her economy and has one of the world's largest soverign fund.
Yes Dubai is definitely the most developed due to its huge tourism industry. They constantly have to cater to them and are now unmatched not just by the rest of the country but by any other major city. Kudos to that.
It is really amazing how Dubai transform itself within a short number of years and it appears that the lack of the resources is the major impetus to development; some times being disadvantaged is not a bad thing after all.