The competence center for foreign direct investment of the Financial Times, fDi Intelligence, has once again compared Europe’s future-oriented tech cities against each other. Swiss cities successfully claimed top ranking across several different categories.
Zurich emerges victorious in mid-sized cities category
According to the ranking, Zurich is the top mid-sized European tech city of the future. Zurich scored well on account of its high economic potential, in particular, as well as its human capital and good quality of life. However, the city also did well in the categories covering international connectivity and business friendliness. Moreover, the innovative capacity of the city is reflected in the high number of submitted patents, while Zurich is also already home to technology giants including the likes of Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
Basel secures top spot for small cities
Basel was named as the top small European tech city of the future. The city owes this accolade above all to its economic potential and human capital. The ranking also highlighted that Basel is home to major pharma giants such as Roche, Novartis and Roivant Sciences, while the city’s key strategic position at the border between Switzerland, Germany and France was likewise underlined. In the small cities category, the only other Swiss city to make the overall top ten was Geneva, with the city in Western Switzerland claiming fourth place here.
Zug takes the crown as best-ranked micro city of the future
In the category of micro cities across Europe, Zug claimed top spot. According to the report, the city boasts particularly high economic potential and is the most business-friendly city in its category at the same time. Between 2016 and 2021, Zug recorded 33 foreign direct investment projects in the fields of finance, life sciences and energy, further details of which can be found in the report. Another Swiss city that successfully secured a top ranking in the micro cities category was Lugano, with the canton of Ticino’s largest city claiming third place in the sub-category of human capital.
Swiss regions shine across Europe
Several Swiss regions also performed well in the ranking. For example, the canton of Zurich was ranked in fourth place in terms of the mid-sized European regions of the future. In the category of small regions, the canton of Zug was likewise ranked in fourth place, while the canton of Geneva claimed the final spot in the top ten here. In terms of foreign direct investment strategies, the Greater Zurich Area was ranked fifth for the mid-sized European regions of the future, while the Basel Area finished in second place in the same category for small European regions.
