New York and London remain the world's most global cities, as they are the only cities to rank in the top ten of both the Global Cities Index and the Global Cities Outlook, according to the latest A.T. Kearney Global Cities 2015 report. San Francisco leads the Global Cities Outlook due to its strength in innovation. Other cities ranking at the top of the Global Cities Outlook include London (2), Boston (3), New York (4), and Zurich (5).
Global Cities 2015 comprises two parts - The Global Cities Index (GCI) and the Global Cities Outlook (GCO). This is the fifth edition of the GCI, which was launched in 2008. The GCI provides a unique assessment of global engagement for 125 cities representing all continents and regions, and measures how globally engaged each city is across 26 metrics in five dimensions - Business Activity, Human Capital, Information Exchange, Cultural Experience, and Political Engagement.
The Global Cities Outlook (GCO) was launched this year. It evaluates the future potential of 125 cities based on the rate of change across four dimensions - personal well-being, economics, innovation, and governance.
The trend for African cities as a whole shows a fall in the overall average index rank from 52 in 2008 to 93 in 2015. However, the GCI itself has increased from 60 to 125 cities in that period. Johannesburg (55) and Cape Town (69) saw their ranks improve the most in the Africa sector of the GCI, with Johannesburg seeing the biggest growth in Political Engagement and Cape Town in Human Capital.
The long-term trend indicates that, while Cape Town has come in at 69 from not even being ranked in 2008, Johannesburg has slipped from 50 to 55 in the same period.
Partner at A.T. Kearney Johannesburg, Wim Plaizier, said African cities were making significant advances. "The fact that Cape Town, for example - which did not make the list last year - has come in at 69 is very encouraging, and indicates that the emerging cities are making positive gains," he said. "This information is important for those making investment decisions."
Cities in top 100
Ranked in order, the other African cities that made it into the top 100 of the GCI this year are Cairo - which at 50 is the only African city ahead of Johannesburg - Nairobi (75), Addis Ababa (85), Lagos (86), Accra (89), Tunis (90), and Casablanca (91).
In the Global Cities' Outlook, Johannesburg (99) ranks ahead of Cape Town (107), with only Casablanca (95) ahead of Johannesburg.
"We have identified 16 cities that are ranked in the top 25 of the GCI, indicating superior current performance, and in the top 25 of the GCO, indicating future potential. We call these cities the 'Global Elite'. Beyond New York and London, the Global Elite includes Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney, and Melbourne," Mike Hales, A.T. Kearney partner and study co-leader, commented.
