Global Business Cities 2021

This report brings together information on 200 most important business cities from 71 countries around the globe. Our intention is to provide valuable insights to support business decision-making, especially choice of location. This second edition covers much of the basic data relevant to businesses and ranks cities based on selected key aspects. The distribution of cities across the geographical regions and countries was based on their relative share of the global and regional economy. The individual cities included in this product were chosen based on their economic importance and geographical distribution.

Urbanization has been identified as one of the megatrends shaping the economy and society globally. More than half of the world’s population already lives in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to rise to over 65 percent by 2030. In addition, urban agglomerations are becoming larger in size. Just like people, economic activities also tend to concentrate in cities – more than 80 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated there. Cities are increasingly considered independently of their national context and rather assessed in relation to one another, i.e., in a transnational network of central marketplaces and operational hubs. Both urbanization and the role of cities as economic powerhouses highlight the importance of taking a closer look at the aspects associated with cities that nurture businesses. It is noteworthy that global resource use is concentrated in cities, which account for more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions and two thirds of worldwide energy use. This phenomena is not only fundamentally changing the way in which individuals function in society, but also it has a transformative effect on industries, consumption patterns and supply chains.

What becomes evident when looking at how the urban centers around the globe are going to develop over the coming years, is the increasing importance of emerging and developing markets.