Singapore is currently the most competitive city in the world, beating out New York and London, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which focuses on global research. However, says the EIU, by 2025, New York City will be number one.

Citi commissioned the EIU to create a forward-looking research report that determines the competitiveness of 120 global cities in 2025. “Hot Spots 2025: Benchmarking the Future Competitiveness of Cities” was designed to enhance understanding of market competitiveness and help determine where growth, opportunity, and talent are likely to be found in the future. It also attempts to identify the ways in which cities can boost their competitiveness to enable economic progress and growth.

According to the report, in order for a city to be globally competitive, it must have a large and growing economy, a good legal system, an inviting and productive culture, good infrastructure and it must have good policy on things that determine long-term stability and success, like the environment. The EIU’s latest report attempts to identify those cities that, as of 2012, best embody each of those characteristics, and based on projections, where they will at the quarter century mark. Based on the report, these are the most competitive cities of the future.

Click here to see the most competitive cities of the future

Eight of the 10 most competitive cities in 2012 are expected to remain in the top 10 through 2025, with Chicago and Stockholm joining the list in 2025 and Zurich and Frankfurt dropping off the list. “These are cities that, in effect, had a big head start,” Leo Abruzzese, global forecasting director with the EIU, said in an interview with 24/7 Wall St. He pointed to the fact that many of these cities have spent decades, even centuries, building robust infrastructure and have become, in essence, financial capitals of the world.

However, there was much greater change among cities outside of the top 10. Much of the competitiveness growth in the next 13 years is expected to take place in Asian cities, such as Doha, Qatar; Incheon, South Korea; and Mumbai, India. Meanwhile, cities such as Madrid, Spain, and Rome, Italy, are expected to fall significantly from 2012 to 2025, mostly due to a weakened European economy, according to Abruzzese.

The cities that top this list, not surprising, are among the wealthiest. “Usually, the cities that come near the top tend to be fairly advanced economies, so they tend to be economically strong,” Abruzzese said. Five of the top 10 most competitive cities in both 2012 and 2025 are in the top 10 for gross domestic product.

These cities tend to share some other crucial characteristics. All but three of the 10 most competitive cities for 2025 are expected to have among the best health care, while all but one of the cities are expected to have the best education. In addition, many of these cities rank high in terms of both international attractiveness and accessibility, along with having a rich and socially diverse culture. Abruzzese points out that these factors are important to attract talented people who often value working in a city that is diverse and offers much the way of nightlife and entertainment.

Based on the data on 120 of the world’s largest cities from the Economist Intelligence Unit, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 cities expected to be most competitive in the world in 2025. The EIU examined eight unequally weighted factors. The value next to each is its weighting in the competitiveness score:

• Economic strength: This includes factors like gross domestic product GDP and GDP per capita. (30%)
• Physical capital: The infrastructure of the city based on its roads, public transport, telecommunications and so on. (10%)
• Financial maturity: The strength of a city’s financial institutions. (10%)
• Institutional character: The electoral process and fiscal autonomy, among other factors. (15%)
• Social and cultural character: Crime rates, freedom of expression and diversity. (5%)
• Human capital: Population growth, education, and economic opportunity for women. (15%)
• Environment and natural hazards: Risk of environmental and natural hazards, and the ability to manage hazards. (5%)
• Global appeal: The number of international flights through the city, quality of higher education, among other factors. (10%)

In each of these areas, The Economist looked at several different factors and ranked each city out of 100. We also looked at factors such as the presence of big business, along with policies that have been implemented or are in the process of implementation to provide further context about these places. The population provided for each of these metro areas is based on the most recent data available. GDP figures are in 2005 dollars.

These are the most competitive cities of the future.

10. Toronto, Canada
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 64.7
> 2012 GDP: $201.3 billion (31st highest)
> 2025 GDP: $271.3 billion (29th highest)
> Metro population: 6.1 million

Toronto is one of three North American cities that are expected to become the world’s most competitive by 2025. When it comes to economic strength, which includes GDP and GDP growth and is one of the most important indicators of competitiveness, the city is not even projected to be in the top 100. Toronto makes up for this by being among the eight cities with a perfect score for the projected strength of its financial institutions in 2025. In fact, Moody’s Analytics projects that the number of workers in Toronto’s finance industry will surpass that of finance powerhouse London by 2017. Toronto is also one of just two cities worldwide to receive a perfect score for its social and cultural character, making it an attractive place for workers to relocate.

9. Chicago, United States
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 65.6
> 2012 GDP: $524.0 billion (5th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $742.1 billion (7th highest)
> Metro population: 9.1 million

Chicago is one of just two U.S. cities to make the list. According to the EIU, factors that will boost Chicago include its improvements in government effectiveness, health care and access to international flights. Chicago’s 2012 GDP of $524 billion was higher than all but four other cities in the world. GDP is expected to jump to more than $742 billion by 2025. Moreover, Chicago is currently ranked among the top 10 of all cities for its institutional character and is projected to maintain that through 2025. The city’s projected global business appeal and quality of higher education also rank among the top 10 in 2025.

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8. Stockholm, Sweden
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 65.7
> 2012 GDP: $102.2 billion (61st highest)
> 2025 GDP: $194.9 billion (44th highest)
> Metro population: 2.1 million

Stockholm’s local businesses can hire foreign nationals much easier than most countries because of more lenient immigration laws and customs. Stockholm also ranked higher than all other major cities except for Oslo for providing economic opportunity for women. Like most cities on this list, Stockholm received perfect scores for the quality of its health care and education systems in 2025. Although the city performs well in many areas, its GDP is only expected to be about $195 billion in 2025, far lower than any of the 10 most competitive cities.

7. Paris, France
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 67.0
> 2012 GDP: $605.0 billion (4th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $884.3 billion (5th highest)
> Metro population: 10.8 million

The international attractiveness and accessibility of Paris are expected to be higher than any other city in the world except for London. The city ranks in the top 10 of all cities worldwide for its projected appeal to global business and higher education system. Paris had the fourth-highest GDP in 2012 at $605 billion. The city’s GDP is expected to rise to more than $884 billion, keeping it among the top five worldwide. There are nine Paris-based companies in the Global Fortune 100, including AXA, BNP Paribas and Peugeot.

6. Sydney, Australia
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 67.3
> 2012 GDP: $182.4 billion (35th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $271.4 billion (28th highest)
> Metro population: 3.8 million

Sydney is among the 13 cities with a perfect score for its projected 2025 infrastructure. This means the city will continue to have strong roads, quality access to its port and a robust public transportation system. The EIU also ranks Sydney among the 10 best-governed major cities in 2025, lauding its bureaucratic efficiency. It is also one of just a few cities receiving a perfect score for its expected electoral process in 2025.

5. Tokyo, Japan
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 68.0
> 2012 GDP: $1,417.1 billion (the highest)
> 2025 GDP: $1,846.8 billion (the highest)
> Metro population: 37.1 million

Tokyo is one of the eight major cities to receive a perfect score for the expected strength of its financial institutions in 2025. The world’s most populous city also has the highest GDP, at more than $1.4 trillion as of 2012. By 2025, the GDP is forecast to rise to more than $1.8 trillion, keeping it in the top spot. Tokyo’s competitiveness is expected to be under considerable pressure from other emerging cities in Asia in coming years.

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4. Hong Kong, China
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 68.1
> 2012 GDP: $307.5 billion (19th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $342.2 billion (19th highest)
> Metro population: 7.1 million

Like Tokyo, Hong Kong’s relative economic strength is expected to be challenged in the coming years. It is currently the third-most competitive city in the world, and it is expected to fall one spot by 2025. Because of the rapid growth of other developing Asian cities, Hong Kong’s projected economic strength is ranked 60th in the world in 2025, down from 19th in 2012. On the other hand, he city’s competitiveness will be boosted by its transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, which received a perfect score for its 2025 projected quality. In the past several years, the city has updated its rail network and airports, among other improvements.

3. Singapore, Singapore
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 71.2
> 2012 GDP: $252.4 billion (26th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $318.7 billion (23rd highest)
> Metro population: 5.2 million

Although it likely will not retain its 2012 status of the world’s most competitive city, Singapore is expected to be remain the most competitive city in Asia by 2025. The city also received a perfect score for its projected communications and transportation infrastructure in 2025. In addition, Singapore’s workforce, measured for its health and productivity, is expected to leap to the top 10 by 2025 from 27th in 2012. According to the EIU, much of the growth is due to a renewed focus on education. The city plans to place more of an emphasis on “holistic education,” focusing less on content knowledge and more on creativity in the next 20 years.

2. London, United Kingdom
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 73.1
> 2012 GDP: $442.6 billion (7th highest)
> 2025 GDP: $1.053.8 billion (3rd highest)
> Metro population: 8.6 million

By 2025, London is expected to retain the top ranking in the global appeal category, which includes the quality of its higher education and flight connectivity. In addition, it is one of eight cities expected to receive the highest possible marks for the quality of its financial system. Currently, the City of London is the most competitive financial center in the world, according to Z/Yen Group, a think-tank and consulting firm, which measures the top financial centers based on factors such as infrastructure and market access. The city ranks higher than all cities except for Boston for its projected quality of higher education. It also is expected to be among the most attractive cities for global business through 2025.

1. New York City, United States
> 2025 competitiveness score (out of 100): 75.7
> 2012 GDP: $1,243.0 billion (2nd highest)
> 2025 GDP: $1,828.7 billion (2nd highest)
> Metro population: 20.5 million

The second-most competitive city in the world as of 2012, New York is expected to surpass Singapore by 2025 and become the world’s most competitive city. New York is expected to be among the most attractive to global business and have among the strongest higher education systems. In addition, the city ranks third in the world for its overall economic strength for 2025. New York’s GDP as of 2012 was the second-largest behind Tokyo, and that is expected to remain unchanged through 2025. The New York metropolitan area is home to nine of the 50 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by revenue in 2012, including IBM, Citigroup and PepsiCo.

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