Singapore ranks Asia's second-smartest city

The image shows Marina Bay Sands and the ArtScience Museum in Singapore at sunset. Photo from Unsplash

Globally, the city-state ranked ninth among 148 cities, unchanged from last year in the annual ranking published by Swiss business school IMD.

It also received the highest ratings for its overall performance, infrastructure and technology.

Zurich in Switzerland topped the global ranking, followed by Oslo in Norway, Geneva, London in the U.K. and Copenhagen in Denmark.

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates ranked sixth, followed by Lausanne in Switzerland and Canberra in Australia, while Abu Dhabi rounded out the top 10.

The index evaluates cities based on residents' perceptions of infrastructure and digital services across five areas: health and safety, mobility, activities, employment and education opportunities, and governance.

The 2026 edition covered 148 cities, surveying approximately 120 residents in each. Rankings were based on responses collected between 2023 and 2025.

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Singapore's position has fluctuated in recent years. It ranked seventh in 2021 and 2023, climbed to fifth in 2024, and dropped to ninth in 2025 before holding that position this year.

Singapore performed well in residents' assessments of digital services, with 82.5% saying internet speed and reliability met their needs and 80.7% reporting that online processing of identification documents had reduced waiting times.

Despite these strengths, affordable housing was the most pressing concern, cited by 82% of respondents, followed by fulfilling employment at 55% and health services at 46%.

The survey also found that 89.1% of residents said access to online information had increased their trust in authorities, compared with an average of 55.8% among cities in the same development group.