Asia-Pacific home to 5 of the world’s top 10 cities in Kearney’s Global Cities Index
Asia-Pacific cities Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai have all maintained their top 10 position in the latest Global Cities Index from management consultancy Kearney, reflecting the strong economic and lifestyle opportunities these cities offer to businesses and people.
The Global Cities Index evaluates cities across five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. With over 30 indicators, the Index quantifies each city’s ability to attract, retain, and generate global flows of people, capital, and ideas.
The capital of Japan, Tokyo, remained steady at number four for the eleventh consecutive year, maintaining its strength in human capital and showing modest gains across business activity, cultural experience, and information exchange. Like last year, Tokyo ranks behind just Paris, London and global leader New York.
Singapore secured the fifth spot once again, matching last year’s ranking. This stability reflects modest gains in political engagement and human capital, driven by improvements in ease of entry. These are offset by slight declines in cultural experience and business activity.
Hong Kong took the seventh position this year, rising from ninth place in last year’s Global Cities Index. In this year’s edition, Hong Kong posted an improvement in international travelers, and a strong performance in visual and performing art which led to gains in the cultural experience dimension.
“This year’s Global Cities Index reiterates the resilience of major Asian hubs. Despite mounting global headwinds and technological disruptions, all the leading APAC cities remained at the top of the Index, highlighting their enduring relevance and the region’s expanding global influence,” said Shigeru Sekinada, Chair of Asia Pacific at Kearney and Managing Director of Japan.
“This demonstrates the region’s ability to navigate evolving global dynamics through expanding digital infrastructure, prioritizing regulatory innovation, and investing in climate resilience. We are optimistic that APAC cities will not only accelerate the region’s economic growth, but also serve as critical connectors of the global economy,” he added.
Other Asian cities
Emerging Asian hubs are also gaining momentum on the Global Cities Index, driven by sustained investment in infrastructure, talent, and digital readiness.
In the business activity dimension, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur achieved strong upward momentum, rising 13 and 9 positions on the dimension respectively. In Jakarta’s case, the human capital dimension rose 13 positions in line with the city’s strong progress in strengthening its institutions and infrastructure.
Cities such as Shenyang, Osaka, Taipei, and Mumbai meanwhile recorded significant improvements in information exchange – each investing in connectivity and digital infrastructure development.
A look ahead: The intelligence age
Kearney’s Global Cities Report also concludes that the long-term competitiveness of cities around the world will rest on three interdependent enablers: expanding energy capacity, embedding resiliency and livability into growth, and developing talent ready for AI adoption.
Cities that act systemically, integrating these elements into a unified vision, will not only withstand disruption but shape the next era of global leadership. “Cities are now at the frontline of the intelligence age. Their leadership will depend not only on capturing AI’s productivity gains, but also on how they govern its risks,” said Sekinada.
“Cities of the future would be those that can integrate energy security, renewable investment, and talent development into a single, coherent strategy, defining the next era of global competitiveness.”
