How about that! Perth named 23rd best city in the world according to new global cities index

Our lovely city has been recognised as the 23rd best in the world according to the inaugural Oxford Economics Global Cities Index.

Perth cracked the top 2.5 per cent of cities worldwide, securing 23rd spot on the Index that focused on Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance.

It claimed top 100 positions for all categories, except Quality of Life (135th), with the city’s mining sector boosting its Economic and Human Capital rankings.

One of the most valuable assets to Perth was in the Environment category, where the city’s high levels of air quality and low emissions intensity ranked highly.

The report said on Perth: “The Western Australian city’s performance is broad based across the categories we include in our index, and is situated in the top 100 in all but Quality of Life.

“The city’s growing services industry will likely also ensure that growth in the city will be more diverse in the future.”

The mining industry both helped and hampered Perth in the report, for different reasons.

It said: “The city is home to and serves as the operational and export basis to a large part of Australia’s important mining sector. This is both a strength and a weakness for Perth; the mining generates substantial economic value for the city, contributing to a high GDP per person as well as a high rate of economic growth for a developed economy city.

“However, Perth’s reliance on the mining sector also comes with drawbacks as it makes the city vulnerable to commodity price and demand fluctuations.”

As well as that, Perth’s remoteness was seen as a blessing and a curse, according to the report.

“Given the city’s remoteness and the general underinvestment in internet connectivity infrastructure in Australia as a whole, Perth suffers from relatively poor levels of internet speed,” the report said.

“Its geographic isolation also implies that Perth does not provide the same access to cultural life as some of its Australian east coast peers.

“However, being remote does come with perks. Indeed, Perth scores highly when it comes to environmental quality.”

For more information about the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index for 2024, head to the organisation’s website.

Image Credit: Perth is OK!/Troy Mutton