Stockholm, capital of Sweden and the largest city in the Nordic region, has spent the past two decades turning a reputation for beauty into one for technology and entrepreneurship. Few European cities of its size have produced as many internationally known start-ups.
This profile looks at how Stockholm is positioned, how it is read from outside, and where the two pull apart, drawing on the major rankings alongside our own coverage of the city since 2016.
City Brand Strength
Stockholm has climbed sharply in the brand and reputation indices. It moved from the sixties into the mid-twenties of Resonance’s World’s Best Cities within five years and sits around thirtieth in Brand Finance‘s Global City Index.
For years the city has called itself The Capital of Scandinavia, a claim Julian Stubbs, who helped develop it, has discussed with us in its successes and its challenges. Anna Gissler, then acting CEO of Stockholm Business Region, told us in 2019 how the city’s marketing had moved from “Beauty on water” to communication built on values, and that the biggest pitfall is to work with slogans rather than with a city’s true character.
Economic Position
Stockholm ranks in the top fifteen of the Innovation Cities Index and in the high thirties of the Kearney Global Cities Index. Its place in the Global Financial Centres Index has slipped, from the high twenties to around fiftieth.
Gissler described Stockholm as producing more unicorn companies per capita than anywhere outside Silicon Valley, supported by an ecosystem for entrepreneurs and political and economic stability. Olle Zetterberg of Stockholm Business Region spoke to us earlier about marketing the wider region to business and talent.
Appeal to Talent
Stockholm ranks around twentieth in Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking, with housing costs the main pressure. The city has worked with user-generated content for years: its Move to Stockholm campaigns let international talent and founders tell their own stories of the city. Gissler saw its openness and progressive values as an advantage at a time of growing populism and closing borders.
Julian Stubbs later looked at the pros and cons of living and working in Stockholm from the perspective of a mobile professional.
Urban Sustainability
Stockholm ranked second in the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index in 2022 and has stayed in its top fifteen, and it is in the top twenty of IESE’s Cities in Motion Index.
At neighbourhood level, Camilla Zedendahl told us how the Royal Djurgården Society brings more than sixty attractions together around a shared commitment to sustainability, work that won the 2025 Place Brand Impact Story Awards.
What Stands Out
Stockholm has a clear claim and evidence to go with it. Its start-up record is known well beyond place branding circles, and its reputation rankings have risen accordingly.
In TPBO’s reading, the claim to be the capital of a region is harder to hold than the claim to be a start-up city. Copenhagen and Oslo make their own case for the same audiences, and as Oslo&Co’s Siw Andersen told us, the Nordic capitals increasingly work together. Stockholm’s strongest proof lies in what its companies have built, not in its title.
Stockholm’s start-up story comes through clearly. The idea of a capital for all of Scandinavia is less visible from outside.
Many cities call themselves innovative. Few can point to as many globally known companies founded there.
Innovation and sustainability rankings and a strong start-up record support the claims. Its standing as a financial centre has slipped.
Positions are relative to the places in TPBO’s editorial record and based on public material only.
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From Our Archive
- 2025Camilla Zedendahl on Royal Djurgården’s sustainable place branding journey
- 2025Royal Djurgården showcase
- 2020What’s it like being a digital nomad in Stockholm?
- 2019Anna Gissler on how Stockholm Business Region leads in talent attraction
- 2018Olle Zetterberg on Stockholm Business Region marketing and branding
- 2018Julian Stubbs on city branding of Liverpool and Stockholm
- 2017Michael Persson Gripkow of Visit Sweden on country brands and destination marketing
- 2016How Stockholm positioned itself as The Capital of Scandinavia
About this profile. We combine the main international rankings, including Brand Finance‘s Global City Index and Resonance’s World’s Best Cities, with our own interviews and reporting. Rankings change every year, so positions are described in broad terms. See the rankings and indices we follow, or explore our other city profiles.