Melbourne never fails to live up to its hype, proving its worth on the global scale time and time again. Just this month, our city was hailed as the most desirable travel location for retirees and the 15th wealthiest city in the world. Now, a brand-new study has ranked the top 1,000 largest cities across the world – and Melbourne cracked the top ten. We’re swelling with pride. 

The first-ever Global Cities Index, published by Oxford Economics, is one of the most detailed city rankings to be released this year. To determine the rankings, the economic experts scored the world’s 1,000 largest cities on 27 indicators across five categories, including Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment and Governance. They then ranked the cities under each of these pillars and combined the scores to create an overall ranking of the top cities worldwide.

Out of 1,000 cities worldwide, Melbourne shone brightly as the ninth top overall. The Victorian capital excelled in the Human Capital (11th) and Economic (16th) categories, with the study calling out its top-notch universities and fast-growing economy, making it a prime destination for immigration and foreign workers. Melbourne also stood out as Australia’s best-ranking city in the Environment category (30th), thanks to its few heavy industries, good air quality and relatively stable climate with limited natural disasters. The report also highlighted our city’s high life expectancy, thanks to our world-class healthcare. Where Melbourne dropped in the rankings was in the Quality of Life category (185th). This was attributed to the city’s fast-growing population spiking demand for housing, causing it to become increasingly unaffordable. 

The report also flagged that Melbourne is on track for its population and economic strength to overtake its NSW counterpart Sydney, which ranked 16th on the global list. It also mentioned that as our city is known for its arts scene and hosts major events like the Australian Open and Australian Grand Prix, it’s widely considered as the cultural and sporting capital of Australia. But they didn’t need to tell us that, we already know. 

Australia’s seven biggest cities all scored in the top ten per cent in the global rankings, with Perth coming in at number 23, followed closely by Brisbane in the 27th spot. Canberra placed 44th, then Adelaide in 51st position and Gold Coast in 81st. So Aussies were well-represented in the top 100 cities, which is something to smile about. 

You can find the full report with details on the rankings of the top cities here. 

Here are the top ten cities on the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index: 

1. New York, United States
2. London, United Kingdom
3. San Jose, United States
4. Tokyo, Japan 
5. Paris, France
6. Seattle, United States
7. Los Angeles, United States 
8. San Francisco, United States
9. Melbourne, Australia
10. Zurich, Switzerland

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