Lagos, Nigeria, has secured the fifth position in the list of most desirable African cities for living, working, and investment, as indicated by the recently released Brand Finance City Index 2023 report.
The report highlights Lagos with a score of 56.7%, closely following Cape Town (South Africa), Cairo (Egypt), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Casablanca (Morocco), which lead the African rankings with scores of 62.9%, 60.7%, 59.7%, and 59.3%, respectively.
The Kenyan capital, Nairobi, also claims a spot in the ranking as the sixth-best African city with a score of 55.1%, just trailing behind Lagos.
On a global scale, the rankings include only six African cities within the top 100 cities worldwide. These cities are Cape Town, Cairo, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Lagos, and Nairobi, positioned at numbers 60, 67, 72, 76, 90, and 94, respectively.
Topping the global chart, London (England) secures the title of the world’s best city brand, achieving an impressive score of 84.6%. Following closely are New York (United States) and Paris (France) in the second and third positions, with scores of 83.0% and 79.7%, respectively.
The report’s methodology is based on a comprehensive global survey involving nearly 15,000 respondents from 20 countries across all continents. This survey aimed to gauge public perceptions of the top 100 cities worldwide.
In response to the findings, David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, commented on London’s exceptional performance, attributing it to the city’s global familiarity. He noted that being the leader in this aspect gives London a significant edge, enabling its overall success in the rankings as the world’s best city.
High familiarity with a city translates into positive perceptions, reputation recognition, and a preference for living, working, studying, retiring, visiting, or investing. This familiarity ultimately drives economic advantages such as increased migration, investments, and tourism.
While London takes the lead, Zurich (Switzerland) stands out as the world’s best city for investment and other related aspects, ranking 17th globally with a score of 72.0%. Zurich’s appeal lies in being an attractive destination for local and remote work, retirement, and investment. It excels in reputation and consideration, but a lower familiarity score prevents it from securing a higher position in the overall Brand Finance City Index ranking.
