London: how does UK‘s financial hub and one of the world’s most influential cities perform in global rankings that study life quality and social sustainability? Is the Brexit-vote having any influence on London’s capacity to attract tourism and talent?

What do leading rankings and indices have to say about the UK capital’s urban sustainability, city brand strength and reputation?

Let’s take a closer look at:

  • London’s economic competitiveness and financial performance
  • Its city brand strength and global reputation
  • Livability: its appeal for digital nomads and locals

Economic competitiveness

How attractive is the city as a place to work and do business? 

The Global Financial Centres Index 34 ranks London 2nd globally and continues to lead in the Europe region. It is currently sitting in between New York City (1st) and Singapore (3rd).

London ranks as follows in areas of competitiveness: 2nd in Human Capital, 2nd for Reputational & General, 3rd for Business Environment, 3rd for Infrastructure, and 3rd for Financial Sector Development. It performs very well in the following industry sectors: Investment Management (2nd), Insurance (2nd), Government & Regulatory (2nd), Finance (2nd), Fintech (2nd), Professional Services (3rd), Trading (4th), and Banking (5th).

According to 2thinknow’s Innovation Cities Index 2022-2023 London ranks 2nd, a jump of nine positions from the previous ranking. The city now sits right behind Tokyo (1st) and New York (3rd).


Brand strength and reputation

Resonance’s 2023 World’s Best Cities Report ranks London 1st, scoring the following in the Place Power Score subfactors: 3rd in Prosperity, 1st in Lovability, and 1st in Livability. It also ranks first for the following Place Power Highlights: Culture and Educational Attainment.

Kearney’s 2023 Global Cities Report continues to rank London 2nd, sitting right below New York City. Moreover, the city ranks 3rd in the Global Cities Outlook, a drop of two positions since the previous ranking.

The comprehensive ranking of the Global Power City Index ranks London 1st. In terms of function-specific rankings, the city ranks 2nd in terms of Economy, 2nd in R&D, 1st in Cultural Interaction, 9th in Livability, 11th in Environment, and 4th in Accessibility. London ranks 1st in Variety of Work Place Options, 9th in Winners of Prizes in Science and Technology, 1st for Nightlife Options, and 11th for Urban Greenery. Lastly, London positioned 1st in the Highly-skilled Workers, 1st in the Corporate Executive, 11th in the Resident, and 1st in the Tourism categories.

According to Brand Finance’s City Index 2023, London ranks 1st in the global ranking with a score of 84.6/100. It ranked as the world’s best city to study in and to visit, with a strong third position for strong identity and character.


Livability

Which aspects of the city’s urban living make it an attractive place to live, work and study?

The Mercer Quality of Living City Ranking places London 45th, sitting in between Milan (44th) and Madrid (46th). The Mercer Cost of Living Ranking ranks it 17th behind Seoul (16th), and above Dubai (18th). The cost living survey reports that factors such as currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and instability of accommodation prices are key to determine the cost of expat packages for employees on international assignment.

According to the Best Urban Cities for Digital Nomads ranking by Spot a Home, London ranks 38th out of 56 global cities. It currently sits between Warsaw (37th) and Frankfurt (39th).

The Arcadis Sustainability City Index 2022 ranks London 6th overall, sitting in between Berlin (5th) and Seattle (7th). Its pillar rankings are the following: Planet 6th, People 22nd, Profit 23rd. Its main strengths are: transport, health, Wi-Fi, work-life balance; however, crime is an area which could be improved.

Lastly, London is home to some of the best universities in the world. According to The Times Higher Education ranking, Imperial College ranks 8th, University College London 22nd, King’s College London ranks 38th, and the London School of Economics ranks 46th.

The QS World University ranking ranks Imperial College 6th, University College London 9th, King’s College London 40th, and the London School of Economics 45th.


Last updated in January 2024. More city profiles here.


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