Toronto Eighth Best City in the World
By Lucas on Oct 10, 2013
By Penny Munoz
As Canada’s only city to rank, Toronto has triumphantly claimed No. 8 in the 2013 Anholt-GfK City Brands Index, surpassing Vienna and knocking Tokyo off the list completely.
Also credited as the second-friendliest and the fourth-safest city in the world among a list of 50 worldwide cities, Toronto is on par with prominent international cities like Sydney and London.
As a way to measure the “image and reputation of the world’s cities, and to track their profiles as they rise or fall,” Anholt-GfK launched a series of worldwide study polls in 2006. This year, the rankings were determined from interviews with 5,114 people from 10 countries (NOT including Canada). Mark Keida, senior research director on the City Brands project correlates Toronto’s increased popularity rankings with strong results coming from our neighbours in the United States, India, the United Kingdom and France. Other participating countries for the 2013 study included: Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Russia and South Korea.
Now that we’ve ranked higher than most of these countries, do you think Canada will be included in next year’s survey?
The biannual index considers six categories:
1) Presence: international status
2) Place: geographical location
3) City prerequisites: affordable accommodation, public amenities
4) People: attractions and overall atmosphere of the city as well as potential for economic growth/educational opportunities
Looking back just two short years ago, Toronto ranked No. 13 in the overall brand category. Globally respected cities Paris and Tokyo both fell from their 2011 standings, which only emphasizes Toronto’s achievement this year. Jumping hurdles to reach its notable new standing, the index reveals positive progress in the way Toronto is perceived on an international front.
What do you think of the top 10 overall rankings?
The Top 10
1. London (2 in 2011)
2. Sydney (3)
3. Paris (1)
4. New York (4)
5. Rome (6)
6. Washington, DC (7)
7. Los Angeles (5)
8. Toronto (13)
9. Vienna (9)
10. Melbourne (8)
