The Swiss city of Zurich, renowned globally for its banking and finance sectors, has secured the top position as the smartest city in the 2024 Smart City Index by the Swiss business school Institute for Management Development (IMD). Singapore, which ranks 5th globally, stands out as Asia’s highest-ranked city. Its ascent of two positions from 2020, 2021, and 2023, where it maintained the 7th spot, is noteworthy.
The top 5 cities also include Oslo in Norway, Canberra in Australia, and Geneva in Switzerland, in respective order. The assessment by IMD involved 142 cities across five key areas: Health and Safety, Mobility, Activities, Opportunities, and Governance. Perceptions of 120 residents in each city were gathered for the evaluation. The final scores were computed based on perceptions from the last three years, with different weights assigned to each year.
The evaluation focused on two pillars: Structures, pertaining to existing city infrastructure, and Technology, describing technological services available to residents. Cities were categorized into four groups based on the Human Development Index (HDI) score, with each group further subdivided based on perceived smartness.
European and Asian cities dominated the rankings, with no cities from the United States featuring in the top 20. Bruno Lanvin, president of IMD’s Smart City Observatory, suggested that the upcoming US elections may have influenced citizens’ perceptions and expectations.
Other notable cities in the top 10 include Copenhagen in Denmark, Lausanne in Switzerland, London in the UK, Helsinki in Finland, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
Among Asian cities, besides Singapore, notable mentions in the top 20 include Beijing and Shanghai in China, Taipei City in Taiwan, Seoul in South Korea, and Hong Kong. Only four Indian cities made it to the list, with New Delhi ranking the highest at 106th place, followed by Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
The list also highlights the significant presence of Chinese cities, with 28 Asian cities making the cut, of which 10 are from China. The list includes a diverse range of cities from various Asian countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
