Global Cities Index (Kearney)
Kearney's Global Cities Index ranks about 158 of the world's largest cities on their current global reach across business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. It is published alongside a forward-looking Global Cities Outlook and is one of the longest-running global city rankings.
- Reliability
- Grade B · 10/12
- Publisher
- Kearney
- Ranks
- Cities
- Editions
- 15 since 2008
- Method
- Data
- How items get in
- Compiled by the publisher
- Status
- Active
Editions
| Edition | Published | Top of the list | On record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | November 5, 2025 | New York | 10 of 158 |
| 2024 Method changed | 2024 | New York | 6 of 156 |
| 2023 | 2023 | New York | 5 of 156 |
| 2022 | 2022 | New York | 5 |
| 2021 | 2021 | New York | 4 |
| 2020 | 2020 | New York | 4 |
| 2019 | 2019 | New York | 4 |
| 2018 | 2018 | New York | 4 |
| 2017 | 2017 | New York | 2 |
| 2016 | 2016 | London | 20 of 125 |
| 2015 | 2015 | New York | 4 |
| 2014 | 2014 | New York | 3 |
| 2012 | 2012 | New York | 3 |
| 2010 | 2010 | New York | 3 |
| 2008 Method changed | October 2008 | New York | 3 of 60 |
How the ranking works
The index scores cities on publicly available city-level data (country data where city data is missing) across five weighted dimensions. In the 2016 edition these were business activity (30%), human capital (30%), information exchange (15%), cultural experience (15%) and political engagement (10%), measured by 27 metrics such as Fortune Global 500 headquarters, capital markets, top universities, international students, news bureaus, museums, embassies and think tanks. Scores run from 0 to 100.
The 2025 edition uses 31 indicators in the same five dimensions. Metrics are added periodically; the 2024 edition added digital infrastructure indicators (data centers, internet speed), which Kearney said reshuffled mid-table ranks.
Scores only: Indicator scores are published without a single overall rank. Cities cannot apply or pay to be included; Kearney selects the cities it measures. The report is free. Kearney is a consulting firm that advises city and national governments.
How far to trust it
Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. Global Cities Index scores 10 of 12, grade B.
- Transparency 2/2
- Dimensions, metrics and weights are published in the report appendix.
- Independence 2/2
- Kearney selects and measures cities; no fees or applications.
- Evidence 2/2
- Built on public statistical data.
- Stability 1/2
- Metrics are revised periodically, including a 2024 digital-infrastructure change.
- Coverage 1/2
- About 158 major cities, not a full census of cities.
- Track record 2/2
- Fifteen editions since 2008.
History
The index was launched in October 2008 by A.T. Kearney with Foreign Policy magazine and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, drawing on advice from Saskia Sassen and Witold Rybczynski, and covered 60 cities. It appeared every two years (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014) and annually from 2015. Coverage expanded to 125 cities in 2016, 156 by 2023 and 158 in 2025.
New York ranked first in every edition except 2016, when London took the top spot. The companion Global Cities Outlook, projecting future potential, was added in 2015.
How it is received
The GCI is among the most cited city rankings in academic and policy work on global cities and is routinely quoted by city governments. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs' 'Beyond the Scorecard' report compares it with the Mori Global Power City Index and notes that the rankings can diverge sharply for the same city (for example Chicago rose one place in Kearney's index from 2008 to 2014 while the Mori index dropped it 17 places), a reminder that results depend on metric choice.
Strengths
- Long track record since 2008.
- Uses public, mostly hard data rather than surveys.
- Dimension weights have been published.
- Free to access.
Weaknesses
- Full ranking tables are often published only as images or PDF figures.
- Metric set changes periodically (for example digital metrics in 2024).
- Favors large legacy capitals by design.
- Covers only about 158 selected cities.
Open questions
Facts not verified yet. They stay visible so they are not mistaken for settled facts.
- Full 158-city tables for 2017 to 2025 are published as figure images and were not loaded; Berlin's rank in recent editions not found.
- Exact release dates for 2010 to 2024 editions not confirmed.
- Berlin's 2008 to 2015 ranks come from a PDF table whose text extraction showed at least one inconsistent row.
- City counts for 2010 to 2015 and 2017 to 2022 not confirmed.
- Ranks for 2018 to 2022 are inferred from multi-year statements in the 2023 report rather than read from each edition.
Superscout describes Global Cities Index independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to Kearney.
Sources and known limits
Last reviewed .
- 2025 Global Cities Report: Accelerating through volatility
- Kearney 2025 Global Cities Report (PR Newswire)
- 2024 Global Cities Report: Resurgent in a world at risk
- 2023 Global Cities Report: The distributed geography of opportunity
- Global Cities 2016 (PDF)
- Global city (Wikipedia)
- Beyond the Scorecard: Understanding Global City Rankings (Chicago Council)