The UK’s capital city London has been ranked as the cleverest city in the world in a new report by Oxford Economics.
The report, known as the Global Cities Index looks at factors such as economic, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance. In the human capital category, London came first ahead of the likes of New York, Tokyo, and Paris.
London’s position as the premier place for human capital was put down to its high number of high-level educational institutions as well as its diverse and well-educated workforce.
Furthermore, the city was also praised for fitting the definition of a ‘Global City’ more than anywhere else in the world.
The report, published earlier this year, explained why London had done so well. They said: “This is, in part, due to the number of higher education institutions in the city, which helps it achieve one of the highest rates of educational attainment in the world.
“London also attracts many highly educated people from abroad (nearly 40% of its population is foreign-born) and several global corporations are headquartered in the city to take advantage of this world-class talent pool.”
They added: “This diverse and well-educated workforce creates a more productive economy, translating to higher average incomes for city residents.”
However, while London scored well for human capital and only lost out to New York as the Global Index’s top city, it lost out in the environment and quality of life categories where it came 197th and 292nd respectively.
On why it did so badly, the report said: “[D]espite the implementation of congestion charges and central London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) policies, the city still suffers from worse air quality than New York and other peers, which somewhat drives down its score.”
London came second to American rival New York City, a location Oxford Economics described as the economic capital of the USA and the world.
They praised the east coast powerhouse for acting as a hub of fashion, finance, advertising and media.
In common with London, it did less well in the environment and quality of life categories where it came 353rd and 278th.