Singapore Named World's Best Smart City

The results of a study by consulting firm Eden Strategy Institute, titled ‘Top 50 Smart City Governments Rankings’, show that Singapore was the world’s best smart city in 2020/2021. The Lion City achieved a total score of 35.8 in the ranking.

Specifically, Singapore excelled in the indicators of financial incentives, supporting programs, talent readiness, and human-centricity. These four indicators each scored 4 points.

Singapore's smart policy and innovation ecosystem indicators each scored 3.9 points. The budget, leadership, vision, and track record indicators scored 3 points each.

Seoul, South Korea, ranked second with a total score of 34. Following was London, UK, with a total score of 33.1.

Barcelona, Spain, and Helsinki, Finland, followed with scores of 32.1 and 32 respectively. New York, USA; Montreal, Canada; and Shanghai, China, subsequently scored 31.9, 31.8, and 31.1 respectively.

Vienna, Austria, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, occupied the last positions in the top 10, scoring 31.2 and 31.1 respectively.

One Indonesian city also made the list: Bandung. The capital of West Java province ranked 28th with a score of 26.9.

Eden Strategy Institute conducted this study to determine the extent to which local city governments can drive the success of smart city programs. The study used ten indicators: vision, leadership, budget, financial incentives, supporting programs, talent readiness, human-centricity, innovation ecosystem, smart policy, and track record.