This year’s results saw London maintain its first-place position for the 9th consecutive year, while creating a large distance between other cities in terms of deviation score. Aside from Environment, London is placed in the top 10 for all functions, and is especially strong in Accessibility where in addition to holding on to the top spot in two indicators, the city also improved its score from last year in four indicators, ranking first in Accessibility. Despite the gap between #2 New York extending further in Economy, London boasts a stable comprehensive strength at the top of Cultural Interaction.

New York was once again dominant in Economy this year, increasing its scores in Total Employment and Employees in Business Support Services, as well as reaching #1 in Variety of Workplace Options. Though the city maintained its top ranks in Research & Development and Cultural Interaction, its scores in Ease of Mobility by Taxi or Bicycle and Traffic Congestion fell, causing it to hand over the #3 position in Accessibility to Shanghai.

Preserving its #3 rank, Tokyo continued to display its consistent strengths in all functions while also raising its rank in Environment and Accessibility. Due to a drop in scores for Workstyle Flexibility and Social Freedom and Equality, Livability was the only function where the city’s rank fell. In Research and Development, in which Tokyo maintained a #3 position, the city’s rank in Academic Performance fell, though it was able to obtain a high ranking in Number of Startups.