Three Canadian Cities Make the Global Competitiveness Benchmarking Report
March 15, 2012
According to the new Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research program commissioned by Citigroup, half of the world’s population now live in cities, generating more than 80 per cent of a global GDP. The report ranks the competitiveness of 120 of the world’s major cities, with three Canadian cities making the list.
Image courtesy of the Economist Intelligence Unit; The Economist
The report suggests that size alone does not determine a city’s potential for growth. For example, some smaller cities like Hong Kong and Singapore have established themselves as globally competitive cities in recent years. Along with economic size and growth, factors like business and regulatory environment, the quality of human capital and quality of life are large contributors to a city’s global competitiveness. As might be predicted, U.S. and European cities are the current leaders on the global competitive list, with New York as number one and London as number two.
The three Canadian cities to make the list are Toronto, which is just shy of the top 10 at 12; Vancouver is placed in the 18th position; and Montreal ranked is number 22.
In the rankings by category, Toronto tied with Zurich, Tokyo, Singapore, New York, London, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Chicago for the number one spot. All of the cities had a score of 100.
The study outlined many aspects that contribute to a city’s competitiveness and how those factors influence a city’s overall development. The report particularly highlighted the possible shift and rise in emerging markets over the coming years. Largely unknown cities will become more prominent by 2020, due to their relatively high growth rates now.
Click here to view the full report.
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