Singapore & Hong Kong rank in the top 20 smart cities in the world [2023 edition]

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Among 141 cities studied, Zurich took the lead, with Oslo coming in second, and Canberra in third place.

Singapore and Hong Kong have, once again, come out as the top Asian cities ranked in the 2023 edition of IMD's annual Smart City Index.

While Singapore maintained the same spot as in 2020 and 2021* (7^th), Hong Kong saw a jump up the ranks - from 33 in 2021, to 19 in 2023. 

*No study was done in 2022.

Among 141 cities studied, Zurich took the lead, with Oslo coming in second, and Canberra (a new entrant to the index) in third place.

Overall, the top 20 cities on the rankings are:

1. Zurich
2. Oslo
3. Canberra
4. Copenhagen
5. Lausanne
6. London
7. Singapore
8. Helsinki
9. Geneva
10. Stockholm
11. Hamburg
12. Beijing
13. Abu Dhabi
14. Prague
15. Amsterdam
16. Seoul
17. Dubai
18. Sydney
19. Hong Kong
20. Munich

Of these 20 cities, six have been continuously improving their performance since 2019, according to the Index. Dubbed "super-champions" in the Index’s report, these cities are Zurich, Oslo, Singapore, Beijing, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Snapshot: What made Singapore and Hong Kong enter the top 20?

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Singapore

The following profile was showcased for Singapore:

Hong Kong

At the same time, Hong Kong earned its spot based on an analysis of the following:

How other cities in Southeast Asia & North Asia ranked (in alphabetical order):

• Bangkok: 88^th
• Beijing: 12^th
• Bengaluru: 110^th
• Chengdu: 97^th
• Chongqing: 86^th
• Delhi: 105^th
• Guangzhou: 71^st
• Hangzhou: 70^th
• Hanoi: 100^th
• Hyderabad: 116^th
• Ho Chi Minh City: 103^rd
• Jakarta: 102^nd
• Kuala Lumpur: 89^th
• Manila: 115^th
• Mumbai: 109^th 
• Nanjing: 58^th
• Shanghai: 25^th
• Shenzhen: 66^th
• Taipei City: 29^th
• Tianjin: 67^th
• Tokyo: 72^nd
• Zhuhai: 60^th

As noted in the study, city smartness "has a bearing on talent", and thus is of interest to companies. "For high-level talents and 'road-warriors' who need ubiquitous high-speed connectivity, the availability of broadband is clearly a must when they choose where to live. This is, consequently, also key for companies when it comes to choosing their location," said Bruno Lanvin, Director, Smart City Observatory (SCO).

"For most citizens, however, that importance would be indirect. Their location choices would largely be guided by the services like health and education, plus 'quality of life'. The researchers gauge and compute this by asking city dwellers how they feel about factors such as ease of transportation and safety of neighborhoods thanks to CCTV."

About the Smart City Index 2023 

The study, produced by the SCO, part of the IMD World Competitiveness Center (WCC), combines hard data and survey responses to show the extent to which technology is enabling cities to address the challenges they face to achieve a higher quality of life for their inhabitants.

The Index looked into city living in 141 cities, up from 118 in 2021. In 2023, some 20,000 citizens were surveyed about living in their cities; they were asked which were the most urgent priorities, from affordable housing and road congestion to fulfilling employment and green spaces.

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