A new ranking of the world’s best cities has been released and there are seven UK cities in the top 100.
The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index ranks 1,000 cities based on their economy, quality of life, environment, human capital and governance.
In 2025’s list, New York takes the crown and is described as the ‘economic capital of the United States’ and ‘in many ways, the world’.
Second on the podium? London.
The report says: ‘London may fit the definition of a “Global City” more than anywhere else in the world.
‘The city has established itself as a perpetually relevant locale for business, science and technology, education and the arts.’
While the Big Smoke’s economy helped it rise up the ranking, London ‘really stands out’ as the ‘world’s leading city for human capital’, due to its ‘numerous world leading universities, diverse labour force and large pool of international headquarters’.
The report adds: ‘London has weathered the UK’s past stumbles related to Brexit and the turmoil of the Prime Minister’s office quite well. Fears that Brexit would lead to a decline of the city as a global financial centre have not been realised.’
London ranks second on the list. The report says: ‘London may fit the definition of a “Global City” more than anywhere else in the world’
Edinburgh lands just outside the top 50 in 57th place. The Scottish metropolis is listed as a key example of a ‘cultural capital’
Bristol is the second-highest performing English city and ranks at 68th place. The city picks up high scores for economy and quality of life
Although London scores highly in the ranking, its high housing expenditure, low economic diversity and low income equality are noted as weaknesses.
But London isn’t the only British city to earn a place in the top 100.
Edinburgh lands just outside the top 50 in 57th place. The Scottish metropolis is listed as a key example of a ‘cultural capital’.
Cultural capitals have a ‘high quality of life’ with many ‘cultural sites’ and a ‘sizeable share of foreign-born residents’.
Bristol is the second-highest performing English city and ranks at 68th place. The city picks up high scores for economy and quality of life.
Leeds ranks in 83rd place and is listed as a sustainable city. Sustainable cities are considered to have ‘prioritised sustainable growth’ and are ‘focused on the clean energy transition’.
Cambridge, another city considered to be a ‘cultural capital’, ranks in 86th place on the list. It gets its highest scores for its economy and quality of life.
Glasgow just makes the top 100, ranking at 90th on the index. It scores particularly highly for quality of life.
Leeds ranks in 83rd place and is listed as a sustainable city. Sustainable cities are considered to have ‘prioritised sustainable growth’ and are ‘focused on the clean energy transition’
Cambridge, another city considered to be a ‘cultural capital’, ranks in 86th place on the list. It gets its highest scores for its economy and quality of life
Glasgow just makes the top 100, ranking at 90th on the index. It scores particularly highly for quality of life
The last British city to rank among the global top 100 is Manchester which comes in 93rd place. Another ‘sustainable city’, Manchester is recognised for its high quality of life.
Paris takes third place on the overall ranking and is described as one of the world’s ‘economic powerhouses’.
San Jose, the home of ‘most major technology companies’ including Apple, Meta and Alphabet, takes fourth place on the list. The report states that the Californian city ‘attracts some of the brightest minds around the globe’.
Seattle rounds off the top five due to its status as a ‘major tech sector’ and its high income per person.
Melbourne, Sydney, Boston, Tokyo and San Francisco also make the top 10 best cities in the world.
At the other end of the scale, Sokoto in Nigeria ranks last out of 1,000 cities with Sultanpur in India and Kaduna in Nigeria also among the bottom three.
