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The largest and most powerful city of the American Midwest, Chicago ranked 26th in 2021. Chicago also scored within the top 10 in the categories of research & development and accessibility.
The Global Power City Index is a comprehensive annual ranking carried out by the Tokyo-based Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies. Based on 70 different factors that fall under six categories, the institute gauges the "magnetism" of the world's top 48 cities.
A city's magnetism ranking is decided by its "power to attract people, capital, and enterprises from around the world," according to the Mori Foundation's website. The six categories that are analyzed when building this annual index are: economy, livability, research & development, environment, cultural interaction, and accessibility. Now, let's take a look at some of the highest ranking cities from the 2021 Global Power City Index.
The bustling and diverse German city of Frankfurt ranks 25th, with particularly high marks in environment and accessibility. Frankfurt is the fifth most populous city in Germany, and shows a striking amount of diversity, with the majority of its youth coming from a non-German background.
Boston, capital of the Northeastern state of Massachusetts, ranked 27th on the 2021 Global Power City Index. A closer look reveals that Boston, a rapidly growing industry city, also ranked fourth in the category of research & development.
The capital of Belgium ranks 24th on the 2021 index. The picturesque city also ranked 12th in the world in livability, and scored well in cultural interaction.
The Austrian capital of Vienna has long been a shining star of Europe, and that is proven by its rating as the 19th magnetic city of 2021. The chosen home of Beethoven and Mozart also ranked fifth in the environment category.
Toronto, the most populous city in Canada and the capital of the province of Ontario, ranked as the 20th most magnetic city in 2021. Toronto earned this spot with above-average scores in most categories, and also holds the distinction as the 10th most livable city in the world.
The cities and metropolises that act as the cultural, industrial, and financial centers of the world all have their own strengths and weaknesses. While one might be economically superior but with a low quality of life, another might be considered one of the most environmentally friendly in the world but simultaneously one of the least culturally diverse. With all of these factors and intricacies, it's hard to get a gauge on a city's overall effect on the rest of the world. Thankfully, there are institutions that recognize the importance of such a ranking, and devote their time to meticulously sorting through an ocean of variables to describe the cities of the world in simple numbers. One such institute is the Mori Memorial Foundation, which has been painstakingly determining the global influence and power of cities annually since 2008 with their Global Power City Index (GPCI).
Read on to find out if your city is one of the most powerful in the world.
San Francisco, the Golden City of California, ranked 23rd in no small part due to its excellent scores that placed it in the top 10 rankings of economy and research & development. Unfortunately, the Californian city suffered in other categories like livability and accessibility.
The gorgeous and vibrant Swiss city of Zürich reached the top 10 in the categories of economy and environment, and ranked 21st overall on the Global Power City Index.
The Swedish capital of Sweden, sometimes called the Venice of the North for the many rivers and tributaries that snake through it, ranked 22nd in 2021. With mostly average scores across the board, Stockholm championed the environment category and earned itself the number one spot.
Famous for the surrealist architecture of Antoni Gaudí and its rich political history, the Catalonian capital of Barcelona ranked 18th on the index in 2021. It also holds an impressive third place in the category of livability.
Hong Kong ranked 13th on the Global Power City Index for 2021. The metropolis ranked fifth in economics and is considered one of the most developed cities in the world.
Beijing, the largest national capital city in the world and one of China's leading centers of culture, commerce, and politics, holds the distinction of being the 17th most magnetic city of 2021. In the category of economy, it was ranked third.
Sydney, one of the largest cities in Australia and the capital of the state of New South Wales, ranked 12th on the index for 2021. Sydney ranked third in environment, and held strong numbers across the rest of the board as well.
Coming in at 11th is another Australian city, Melbourne, the capital of the southern state of Victoria. Melbourne also ranked fourth in environment, just below Sydney, but beat out its fellow Australian city in other categories such as livability.
Dubai, famous the world over for its extravagant metropolitan life, artificial islands, and the impossibly high Burj Khalifa, ranked as the 14th most magnetic city of 2021, and ranked fifth in terms of cultural interaction.
Ranking as the 15th most popular city of 2021 is the Danish capital of Copenhagen. The picturesque city in Northern Europe ranked second in the environment category, and also received high marks in the livability and accessibility categories.
The Spanish capital of Madrid ranked ninth in 2021, and was also named the number one most livable city on the planet. Additionally, Madrid placed 11th in cultural interaction and 14th in accessibility.
The beautiful South Korean capital of Seoul was awarded eighth place on the Global Power City Index in 2021. Home to 15 Fortune 500 companies, Seoul ranked sixth in the research & development category.
Shanghai, the most populous city in China and the world's largest port city, was named the 10th most magnetic city in 2021. Shanghai received impressive rankings across the board, including the 10th place in the economy category.
The seventh most powerful and magnetic city in the world in 2021 was Berlin. The German capital earned positions in the top 10 in the categories of cultural interaction, livability, and environment.
The French capital of Paris, home to some of the most instantly recognizable structures in the world and one of the most historically famous cities in Europe, was ranked the fourth most powerful and magnetic city in 2021, and occupied second place in cultural interaction, livability, and accessibility.
The Asian city-state of Singapore was named the fifth most powerful city of 2021, and earned top 10 spots in the categories of economy, cultural interaction, and accessibility.
In sixth place is the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, famous for its many canals and distinctly beautiful architecture, and countless museums. Amsterdam also placed fourth and fifth in accessibility and livability, respectively.
Crowned as the single most powerful and magnetic city in the world, for the 10th consecutive year in a row, was the English metropolis of London. While the city's overall ranking was left unchanged, its position from 2020 dropped in accessibility but improved in livability and environment.
Sources: (Global Power City Index) (The Facts Institute) (WorldStrides)
See also: Top comeback cities that deserve a visit
Tokyo, the capital of Japan and the city from which the Global Power City Index is organized, ranked third in 2021. The only category in which Tokyo didn't make the top 10 was environment.
Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States and a global center of culture, ranked 16th on the index in 2021. It ranked third in the category of research and development.
The second most powerful city in the world according to the Global Power City Index is New York City, the most populous city in the United States. New York ranked first in economy and research & development.
The world's most powerful cities
Based on the Global Power City Index
LIFESTYLE Ranking
The cities and metropolises that act as the cultural, industrial, and financial centers of the world all have their own strengths and weaknesses. While one might be economically superior but with a low quality of life, another might be considered one of the most environmentally friendly in the world but simultaneously one of the least culturally diverse. With all of these factors and intricacies, it's hard to get a gauge on a city's overall effect on the rest of the world. Thankfully, there are institutions that recognize the importance of such a ranking, and devote their time to meticulously sorting through an ocean of variables to describe the cities of the world in simple numbers. One such institute is the Mori Memorial Foundation, which has been painstakingly determining the global influence and power of cities annually since 2008 with their Global Power City Index (GPCI).
Read on to find out if your city is one of the most powerful in the world.