Zug is the most attractive micro city among Europe’s business locations. Zurich takes second place in the overall ranking of medium-sized cities. The cities of Geneva, Basel, Zug, Lausanne and Lugano, the cantons of Zurich, Geneva, Vaud and Zug, as well as the Greater Zurich Area and Basel Area, are also in the top 10 of the 2024 fDi rankings.
Switzerland is once again represented this year with several cities and cantons featured in various Top 10 rankings of the European Cities and Regions of the Future 2024. These rankings are assessed by fDi Intelligence, a British investment portal owned by the Financial Times, which evaluates the most attractive locations in Europe for direct investments. The data was gathered for a total of 330 cities and 141 regions across five subcategories: economic potential, human capital and lifestyle, cost-effectiveness, connectivity and business friendliness. In the micro-city category, Zug narrowly clinches the top spot in the overall ranking, just as it did last year, closely followed by the Irish cities of Limerick, Galway, and Waterford, as well as the Swiss city of Lugano. In the subcategory of Human Capital and Lifestyle, Lugano holds the 5th position, while Lugano's economic potential positions the city at 7th place. As a small city, Lausanne claimed the 8th position for its economic potential and the 9th position in the subcategory of Human Capital and Lifestyle. According to the report, Geneva retains its importance as one of the world's most important diplomatic and financial hubs among small cities and is therefore ranked third. Basel is now ranked fifth after first place last year. In the category of mid-sized european cities, Zurich now secures the 2nd position in the overall ranking, following its first-place position from the previous year. It is now behind the Polish city of Wrocław and ahead of Vilnius in Lithuania. The report particularly highlights Zurich's well-educated workforce and the concentration of medtech companies. Within its group, Zurich boasts the greatest economic potential, recording an average of 33 new investment projects over the past five years. As a small European region, the canton of Vaud ranked 4th in the sub-category of human capital and lifestyle and 7th in the sub-category of economic potential. Among the mid-sized European regions, the Canton of Zurich came in 7th place, while the Canton of Geneva and the Canton of Zug ranked 8th and 9th respectively among the smaller regions. The Greater Zurich Area (GZA) and the Basel Area were also successful, ranking 3rd and 10th respectively. They were recognized for their fDi strategy, which they use to attract internationally expanding companies to the Swiss region. ce/mm