Top 10 Smartest Cities In The World

According to the 2024 Smart City Index, which was released in April, the top 10 smartest cities in the world are in Europe and Asia, while North American cities are falling down the rankings.

Seven of the ten smartest cities on the list were located in Europe.

The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), based in Seoul, South Korea, collaborated with the IMD World Competitiveness Center’s Smart City Observatory to create this year’s index.

Based on survey responses from 120 residents in each city and data analyzed by researchers, the report ranks 142 smart cities worldwide.

An overview of how a city’s infrastructure and technology affect its performance and residents’ quality of life is captured in the study.

“An urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanization for its citizens.” is the definition of a smart city, according to the IMD.

Despite the overall climate of global uncertainty, cities in the top 20 are located in areas where social and economic environments are relatively predictable, with very few exceptions.

The cities that do well on the list of IMD Smart City Index 2024 have also developed programs to improve the overall quality of life for their residents.

According to the report, “Such initiatives have focused on developing green spaces and expanding opportunities for cultural events and social bonding, for example.”

The report stated,

“In the majority of these leading cities, such efforts have been combined with innovative strategies to attract and retain talent, foster investment in a selective fashion [e.g. pro-sustainability], and tackle long standing issues regarding geographical inequalities and inclusion,” the report said.

The top ten smart cities, as determined by the 2024 Smart City Index, are listed below.

Zurich, Switzerland
Oslo, Norway
Canberra, Australia
Geneva, Switzerland
Singapore
Copenhagen, Denmark
Lausanne, Switzerland
London, England
Helsinki, Finland
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Notably, the index has not included any cities from North America in its top 20 for the first time since its inception in 2019.

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According to the report, “a significant number of US cities have been losing ground using three year moving averages (i.e. comparing a city’s average ranking for the period 2021-24 to that of the period 2020-23).”

This year, New York City came in at number 34, followed by Boston, which came in at number 36, and Washington, D.C., which came in at number 50.

The list was dominated by European cities, but Asian cities are also gaining ground.

The top five smart cities in Asia are as follows:

Since the index’s inception in 2019, Singapore has consistently ranked among the top 10 places: fifth, Beijing is 13th, Taipei City is 16th, Seoul is 17th, and Shanghai is 19th. Except for 2022, when no rankings were released, it ranked seventh from 2020 to 2023 and moved up two spots this year.

Additionally, Taipei City has moved up 13 spots in the past year, moving up from 29th in 2023 to 16th this year.