Barcelona is the 7th most highly valued city by qualified professionals worldwide, while city residents put it in 9th place, tourists in 16th place and people in executive positions 29th

Barcelona once again appears in the top 20 places in the global city ranking, according to the Global Power City Index 2021. This index, which is produced by the Japanese Mori Memorial Foundation, with the participation of prestigious universities and think tanks, compares 48 big cities around the world, based on a total of 60 indicators divided into six categories, by areas of urban competitiveness.

Barcelona is ranked 18th in the world and 7th in Europe, and is listed among the leading global cities for the first time since 2016, after increasing its score compared to last year. In a classification headed by the big metropolises of London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore, Barcelona has improved its position in the world by three places and by two in Europe, displacing Vienna, Toronto and Zurich, while staying ahead of Boston, Geneva and Milan.

This year, Barcelona is third in the world in the category of livability, 14th for cultural interaction, 16th for accessibility, 26th for the environment, 29th for the economy, and 34th for R+D, rising in the rankings for livability and the economy compared to 2020. From the perspective of global qualified professionals, Barcelona is the 7th most highly ranked city, while city residents put it in 9th place, tourists in 16th place and people who occupy executive positions in 29th place. It is worth noting that, in a period of two years, the city has climbed from 36th to 29th place in the economic ranking.

Jaume Collboni, the Deputy Mayor for the Economy, Employment, Competitiveness and Treasury, said “we celebrate Barcelona’s return to the Top 20 of this international ranking, which shows that we continue to be a leading city worldwide in terms of the economy and business”, adding that it also “shows in Barcelona we are working in the right direction to create more opportunities and more jobs, and that we must continue with our efforts to make the city even more competitive and attractive for new investments and attracting global talent”.

This ranking, published since 2008, has become a guiding star for companies, big corporations and investment groups around the world, which study the index’s analytic data when making decisions and undertaking activities in the various cities. The order of the cities in this report highlights their strengths and areas for improvement but also specific components of each indicator (such as air quality, mobility for going to work and  the number of start-ups, hotels and museums), as well as noting the year-on-year performance and evolution of each city. Good positioning for a city is considered to be a key factor in becoming a benchmark and generating the magnetism for attracting new opportunities.

The conclusions of the 2021 report, like the previous year, shows that those indicators relating to tourism and cultural activities were most affected, among other economic sectors. With regard to highlighted aspects, in spite of the extreme effects of the health situation, Barcelona is listed 3rd for livability, which among the various parameters, reflects flexibility in the area of employment and a reduction in the city’s unemployment figures. It is also worth bearing in mind that in 2019, Barcelona presented the Competitiveness strategy for the Barcelona Green Deal.