Economy, Tax, Economic Promotion and Tourism

The 2023 Barcelona Observatory report, now in its 21st edition, consolidates the Catalan capital as a leading city in sectors such as technology, science and research, reaffirming its attractiveness to international talent. In a complex economic context, amidst post-pandemic recovery and marked by inflation and tightening monetary policy, Barcelona maintains positive macroeconomic indicators and demonstrates resilience as a city. This is evident from the 35 indicators collected in the report, which refer to the following areas: economic activity, quality of life and social cohesion, labour market and training, knowledge society, tourism, and prices and costs. And this year it includes, in addition, two new indicators: resilience and innovation.

Barcelona climbs one position in the global ranking of preferred cities for working abroad, according to the 2024 Decoding Global Talent report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), placing the Catalan capital in the eighth position on the list ahead of cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris. Barcelona has therefore progressed among the top ten cities preferred by global talent. This study on the workforce and its preferences in a globalised world is based on an extensive online survey (the Global Talent Survey) with responses from over 150,000 people in 188 countries.

Barcelona is also the 10th most attractive city in the world for digital experts looking to work abroad, according to the Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge report by BCG.

The Catalan capital ranks as the 8th city in the world and the third in Europe in terms of attractiveness for visitors, entrepreneurs and residents, according to the World’s Best Cities Report 2024, compiled by Resonance Consultancy Ltd. In the last six years, Barcelona has consistently been among the Top 10 most attractive cities worldwide, excelling in aspects such as friendliness and liveability.

For the eighth consecutive year, the city is also among the top 25 cities in global competitiveness, according to the Global Power City Index, which compares 48 major cities. Barcelona ranks 22nd globally and 11th in Europe, surpassing cities like Brussels, Geneva and Milan.

Barcelona ranks as the 13th digital city globally and the 6th in Europe, according to the first edition of the Digital Cities Index published by Economist Impact of The Economist group. Similarly, Barcelona ranks second in the global urban intelligence ranking, just behind Seoul, according to the Smart Cities Index Report 2022.

Attracting foreign investment

In terms of attracting foreign investment, for the third year running, Barcelona is the European city with the most effective strategy for attracting foreign investment projects, according to the FDi Cities and Regions of the Future 2024 report (Financial Times group), ahead of London and Berlin. Barcelona ranks 7th among the world’s regions in attracting foreign investment projects according to the Dubai FDI Annual Results & Rankings 2022 report, compiled with data from the fDi Markets database by Financial Times Ltd.

Among the “Top 5” worldwide in hosting conferences

The Observatory also indicates that Barcelona retains its strong global position as a host city for international conferences. The city reclaims top spot in terms of the number of delegates at these events and remains fourth in the number of organised congresses, according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

Barcelona is the only destination that has remained in the Top 5 worldwide for hosting international congresses and meetings over the past 21 years, a leadership position reinforced by its status as the permanent headquarters of the MWC and the hosting of the ISE and other major events planned for 2024.

 Barcelona, a resilient and creative city

In terms of resilience, which is one of the new items assessed in the Barcelona Observatory, the Catalan capital enters the Top 10: it occupies ninth position globally and fourth place in Europe, according to the Resilient Cities Index report, compiled by Economist Impact (from The Economist group).

This ranking is led by New York, Los Angeles and London, with Barcelona (with a score of 79 points) ranking second globally in terms of public transport mobility for residents and integration of vulnerable populations. The report highlights policies implemented in the city regarding the climate design of buildings and elements such as green roofs.

 Regarding other dimensions associated with a good quality of life, Barcelona stands as a benchmark in cultural vitality and creativity, according to the results of The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2023, compiled by the European Commission. In this index, the Catalan capital ranks 13th globally and excels in the areas of human capital and education, local and international connections, and openness, tolerance and trust (ranking 1st, 2nd and 5th, respectively, among cities with more than one million inhabitants).

Barcelona also stands out as an international benchmark in the field of sports and maintains seventh position in the Ranking of Sports Cities 2023, compiled by the consulting firm Burson Cohn and Wolfe, where it has been among the top ten since the first edition in 2012.

 Innovation and technological ecosystem

The Catalan capital ranks 9th among European cities in terms of innovation according to the 14th edition of the Innovation Cities Index, where it once again finds itself in the Top 10 on the continent surpassing Oslo, Helsinki, Istanbul and Moscow, and in 26th position in the global ranking.

With regard to the technological ecosystem, Barcelona retains its position as the third preferred city in Europe to set up a startup, for the sixth consecutive year, according to the Startup Heatmap Europe Report 2023.

Barcelona also remains the leading startup ecosystem in Spain and the 6th in Europe in 2023 (according to StartupBlink). It enters the Top 5 of emerging ecosystems worldwide and ranks 4th globally, according to The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 by Startup Genome. Moreover, it is the 11th city in Europe in terms of attracting technological investment (Atomico).

In the field of research, Barcelona ranks seventh among European cities in scientific academic production according to the Knowledge Cities Ranking 2022, compiled by the Centre of Land Policy and Valuations of the UPC, which places it 22nd in the global ranking.

Record in female employment

According to data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, in 2022, the Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) of the resident population in the province of Barcelona stood at 7.3%, one-tenth higher than the previous year. When considering female TEA, the figures for Barcelona (6.8%) and Catalonia (6.5%) exceed those recorded in Switzerland (6.3%), Austria (6.1%) and Spain as a whole (5.9%), and the growth of female entrepreneurship in Barcelona has meant a closing of the gap between male and female rates to just 1 point.

The female employment rate, which stood at 77.9% during the last quarter of 2023, reached its all-time high in the city, surpassing the EU average. In fact, the city ended 2023 with the lowest unemployment rate (6.1%) since 2007.

Attractive for visitors and competitive in terms of cost of living

From a tourist perspective, Barcelona ranks as the fourth city in Europe for international overnight stays, behind London, Paris and Istanbul, according to the Benchmarking Report 2021-2022 by the City Destinations Alliance. The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport has regained seventh position in Europe in terms of passenger numbers (Airport Council Europe), and the Port was the leading European cruise port in terms of the number of cruise passengers (MedCruise).

In terms of the cost of living, Barcelona maintains international competitiveness and ranks 75th among the 227 cities worldwide with the highest cost of living, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey by Mercer, reaching 19th position among cities in the eurozone.