World Index highlights Moroccan cities in new global ranking

In the latest “Global Cities Index 2024” ranking, Casablanca came in 442nd place among the world’s 1,000 major cities. Rabat, Tangier, Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Meknes also feature on the ranking, each with distinct placements that reflect a diversity of performances.

The Oxford Economics World Cities Index evaluates and ranks the world’s most influential metropolises on the basis of five key criteria, including economic strength, human capital, quality of life, environmental quality and governance.

For this 2024 edition, 1,000 cities in 163 countries were evaluated. According to the index, Casablanca was ranked 442nd, while Rabat came 504th. Tangier, meanwhile, fell back to 631st place. Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Meknes were ranked 656th, 670th, 684th and 727th respectively.

According to the index’s findings, Moroccan cities occupy rather modest ranks in the “Quality of Life” category. Casablanca emerges in 713th place, closely followed by Rabat in 742nd. Tangier ranks 727th, while Agadir and Marrakech come in at 762nd and 702nd respectively. Fez and Meknes close the gap at 781st and 787th.

However, Casablanca, as the Kingdom’s economic capital, performed better in the categories of human capital (287th place) and environment (225th place). These results contributed significantly to the improvement in its overall economic score, placing the city in 431st position. In terms of governance, however, the city ranks 562nd.

Rabat stands out with an economic performance ranked 438th, human capital in 486th place, a remarkable environment in 156th place, but governance in need of improvement, ranked 562nd, just like the rest of the Moroccan cities evaluated. Tangier, for its part, struggles economically and in terms of human capital, both ranked 727th, but shines in environmental terms at 130th place.

Agadir’s economy ranks 668th, human capital 663rd and environment 391st. In Marrakech, the economic criterion ranked 766th and human capital 752nd, while in terms of the environment, the Ochre city ranked 441st. As for the city of Fez, its economy ranked 732nd, human capital 587th and environment 509th. Finally, Meknes, with an economy ranked 784th, human capital 694th and environment 448th, completes this panorama of the main Moroccan cities evaluated.

American cities dominate the world’s top 10. New York (USA) tops the list, followed by London (UK), San José (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Paris (France), Seattle (USA), Los Angeles (USA), San Francisco (USA), Melbourne (Australia) and Zurich (Switzerland).