Buenos Aires, Argentina‘s capital and South America’s most visited city, is widely loved by artists and foreign visitors thanks to its multicultural agenda, street art, and gastronomy. But how well does it perform in rankings that study the capacity of cities to attract talent and investment? Is the city government doing a good job to protect the natural environment? How good is life quality in Buenos Aires and how attractive for talent, visitors, locals?

Let’s take a closer look at:

  • Economic competitiveness and financial performance
  • City brand strength and global reputation
  • Livability: Buenos Aires appealing for talent, visitors, and locals?

Economic Competitiveness and Financial Performance

The Global Financial Centres Index 34 ranks Buenos Aires an improvable 121st.

According to 2thinknow’s Innovation Cities Index 2022-2023, it ranks 62nd, an impressive jump of 109 positions from the previous ranking. The city now sits between Mexico City (61st) and Perth (63rd).


City Brand Strength and Reputation

According to Brand Finance’s City Index 2023, Buenos Aires ranks 79th globally, comparable with Riyadh (78th) and Izmir (80th).

Resonance’s 2023 World’s Best Cities Report ranks Buenos Aires 55th, scoring 8th in Culture and 12th in Museums. It currently sits between Miami (54th) and Hamburg (56th).

Kearney’s 2023 Global Cities Report ranks Buenos Aires a strong 22nd, improving three positions from the previous ranking. It currently sits between Moscow (21st) and Dubai (23rd). Moreover, the city ranks 115th in the Global Cities Outlook, a drop of 27 positions since the previous ranking.

The Global Power City Index ranks Buenos Aires 44th. In terms of function-specific performance, the city ranks 46th in Economy, 45th in R&D, 14th in Cultural Interaction, 34th in Livability, 31st in Environment, and 48th in Accessibility. Buenos Aires ranks 6th in Nightlife Options, and 5th for Number of Retail Shops. Lastly, it performs best in terms of appeal to visitors (tourism – 21st), 42nd among Highly-skilled Workers, 46th among Corporate Executives, and 32nd among its Residents.


How Attractive to Live, Work, and Study?

The Mercer Quality of Living City Ranking places Buenos Aires 100th, sitting between Krakow (99th) and Kaohsiung (101st). The same company’s Cost of Living Ranking puts Buenos Aires 45th, jumping 69 positions from the previous ranking. It now sits behind San Juan (54th), and above The Hague (56th).

According to the Best Urban Cities for Digital Nomads ranking by Spot a Home, Buenos Aires ranks 23rd out of 56 global cities, attesting its considerable appeal among location-flexible talent. It currently sits between Vienna (22nd) and Chicago (24th).


Urban Sustainability

The Arcadis Sustainability City Index 2022 ranks it 82nd overall with much room for improvement, sitting between Lima (81st) and Jakarta (83rd): Planet 62nd, People 84th, Profit 84th.


Last updated in January 2024. More city benchmarking insights, profiles, and reports in our City Observatory.


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Disclaimer: The information provided in this article offers a general overview of Buenos Aires’ economic and cultural landscape for comparative purposes over time. While we strive for accuracy and completeness, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. The data is presented ‘as is’ without any warranty. Users should verify the information before relying on it for decision-making purposes.