SINGAPORE – Singapore is the world’s fifth-smartest city, moving up two levels from its ranking in 2023, according to the 2024 Smart City Index.
The Republic also remains the smartest city in Asia, beating out the likes of Beijing, Taipei and Seoul, based on the index published on April 9.
The annual ranking grades 142 cities on how well they use technology to enhance the quality of life of citizens.
The report found that Singapore is excelling in areas like providing satisfactory basic sanitation for the poorest areas, public transport and public safety.
Zurich retained its title as the world’s smartest city and is trailed by Oslo, Canberra and Geneva in that order.
Besides Singapore, other Asian cities in the top 20 include Beijing (13th), Taipei (16th), Seoul (17th), Shanghai (19th) and Hong Kong (20th).
The Smart City Index, now in its fifth iteration, is published by Swiss business school Institute for Management Development (IMD).
There are no US cities in the top 20 list in 2024, potentially because of looming elections that have made people more critical about what needs improvement, said Dr Bruno Lanvin, president of IMD’s Smart City Observatory.
From 2019 to 2021, Singapore ranked first on the global index, before falling to seventh place in 2023. The index was not published in 2022 as researchers were refining the methodology, IMD said in a statement on April 11.
The 2024 report was produced in partnership with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation, an international association of local governments, smart technology purveyors and institutions.
Researchers combined hard data and survey responses from citizens to determine the rankings of the 142 cities.
According to the IMD website, 120 residents in each city were surveyed on issues like traffic congestion, whether free public Wi-Fi has improved access to city services, and if current internet speed and reliability meet connectivity needs.
This year, for the first time, moving averages could be calculated, revealing the position of a city, on average, in earlier indexes, said IMD.
Based on this data, Singapore has been named a “super-champion” for either maintaining its position or improving in its rankings.
The other five super-champions are Zurich, Oslo, Abu Dhabi, Beijing and Seoul.
Dr Lanvin said: “Cities must design and adopt strategies that can resist the test of a future plagued with growing uncertainties.
“Health-related concerns remain high, while climate-related ones grow even larger; a mix complicated by renewed international tensions.”
