Editorial Team/Staff Writers
Kampala ranks 445th among 1,000 cities assessed globally in the Global Cities Index. The bustling capital does better than Rwanda’s Kigali, which ranks 520 and has earned a reputation as one of Africa’s cleanest cities. Nairobi, one of five African “Cities to Watch”, ranks 327.
US cities take five slots among the top 10 while European ones account for four. Tokyo is the only Asian city among the top 10.
The Index’s methodology scores cities across five categories to achieve a well-rounded comparison of locations: Economics measures the economic size, structure, and growth of each city, examining both historical performance and future potential.
Human Capital evaluates the educational and business environments of each city, alongside demographic trends.
Under Quality of Life, researchers look at the benefits of living in each city and residents’ wellbeing, covering financial and health outcomes, as well as access to amenities.
Cities are also measured according to the natural environment of each city on issues related to climate change.
Governance measures the political stability of a city and the degree to which residents’ rights are protected. Because national governments significantly influence these outcomes, this category is measured at the national level, meaning every city within a given country receives the same score.
In order to allow cities to be compared with their closest peers that share similar characteristics, the Index classifies them into archetypes based on the indicators that comprise the Global Cities Index.
Global Leaders, for example, are true ‘global cities’ that drive the world economy. They are the largest cities in the world by GDP and are financial and business hubs, with many corporate headquarters and universities. The list has 21 cities—Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Jose (US), Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D—and it is dominated by North America followed by Europe and Oceania.
Africa has no city among 63 Sustainable Cities.
Regional Leaders are defined as important and large cities in their regions, but not as economically powerful on the global stage as the Global Leaders. They outperform their respective countries on metrics, such as economic growth and income per person, and tend to have more universities and business activity than neighbouring cities.
Other are Cultural Capitals, Sustainable Cities and Industrial Hubs.
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