City jumps 15 positions in two years, to reach number 7 in the rankings and stands out in aspects like the business environment, tourism and global brand.
The report, prepared by Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the City of Barcelona, compares the Catalan capital every year with major cities around the world on a set of economic and social indicators from official sources grouped into six areas: business, know-how, tourism, sustainability, quality of life, costs and prices, the labour market and training.
Barcelona is among the top ten cities in the world in key business development areas for the city, and data on the various indicators used shows an improvement on the previous years. The variable business is one that showed most improvement, with the Catalan capital in third place in Europe, according to the Financial Times . KPMG places Barcelona in tenth position in terms of foreign investment in new sites during 2013, an increase on 2012. The city also stands in fourth place in the world in terms of number of international conferences organised.
In terms of tourism, the city's international airport remains in the top ten in Europe in terms of number of passengers (35.2 million passengers), while the port took top spot in Europe and fourth in the world in terms of the amount of cruise passengers received. In the field of sustainability, Barcelona ranks fourth best smart city in Europe and sixth best global brand in the world.
In terms of know-how, Barcelona is in fifth place in terms of scientific production in Europe and eleventh in the world, according to the University Polytechnic of Catalonia (UPC). In addition, there has been a significant increase in technological patents numbers.
In areas like education and employment, Barcelona stands out for having two of the top ten business schools in Europe, while the percentage of workers with a university education continues to grow in Catalonia.
The report's presentation ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, and the President of Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Miquel Valls, which also saw a presentation of a special report called the Business Climate in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. The Situation in 2013 and forecasts for 2014, which shows business performance Hs improved slightly compared to the previous year.
