Helsinki ranks 2nd on global Smart City Index

Helsinki has been ranked second on the Smart City Index 2020 published on Thursday.

The Smart City Index ranks cities based on economic and technological data as well as by their citizens’ perceptions of how “smart” their cities are.

The Institute for Management Development, in collaboration with the Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), has released the 2020 Smart City Index, with key findings on how technology is playing a role in the COVID-19 era in a way that is likely to remain.

Singapore ranked top on the list, followed by Helsinki, Zurich, Auckland, Oslo, Copenhagen, Geneva, Taipei City, Amsterdam, and New York.

Hundreds of citizens from 109 cities were surveyed in April and May 2020 and asked questions on the technological provisions of their city across five key areas: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance.

Lagos was at the bottom of the list, followed by Nairobi, Abuja, Cairo, Rabat, Manila, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, and Sa Paulo.

“It is of course too early to draw the lessons from COVID. However, it is clear that we are at a critical juncture, where the sanitary crisis is still very much with us, while the economic and social crisis that it will entail has hardly started. This year’s Smart City Index suggests that the cities that have been able to combine technologies, leadership and a strong culture of ‘living and acting together’ should be able to better withstand the most damaging effects of such crises,” said IMD Smart City Observatory President Bruno Lanvin.

“Helsinki’s goal is to be the most functional city in the world. Our success in this new ranking shows that we are moving determinedly in the right direction. The results also indicate how the importance of technology utilisation in cities has grown during the coronavirus epidemic, in a way that will likely remain permanent. In Helsinki, we are striving continuously to confront challenges to this situation, such as preventing inequality and marginalisation,” said Helsinki Mayor Jan Vapaavuori in a statement.

Click the Smart City Index 2020 to see the detail analysis.