Barcelona has ranked as one of the top cities in the world across many categories: tech, culture, education and more!
The capital of Catalonia is regarded as one of the overall best cities in the world and is ranked for the attraction of international talent. Expats are especially attracted to Barcelona for its location, cultural attractions, nightlife, and safety and security.
Barcelona in the rankings
General
Best cities in the world
Resonance Consultancy’s World’s Best Cities Report ranked the world’s cities with over one million residents based on six categories:
- Place (weather, safety, landmarks, access to outdoors)
- Product (airport connectivity, attractions, museums, universities, conventions)
- Programming (culture, nightlife, restaurants, shopping)
- People (labour force participational, education access)
- Prosperity (presence of Fortune 500 companies, GDP per capita, employment rate, income equality)
- Promotion (Facebook visits, Google searches and trends, TripAdvisor reviews, Instagram hashtags
- 2025
- Barcelona ranked 8th in the World's 100 best cities
- Download the full report
Best cities in europe
Resonance Consultancy’s Europe’s Best Cities Report ranked Europe’s cities with over one million residents based on six categories:
- Place (weather, safety, landmarks, access to outdoors)
- Product (airport connectivity, attractions, museums, universities, conventions)
- Programming (culture, nightlife, restaurants, shopping)
- People (labour force participational, education access)
- Prosperity (presence of Fortune 500 companies, GDP per capita, employment rate, income equality)
- Promotion (Facebook visits, Google searches and trends, TripAdvisor reviews, Instagram hashtags
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 7th in Europe's 100 best cities
- Download the full report
Europe's most talked about cities
ING Media’s Most Talked About Cities Report ranked 60 of Europe’s cities based on their digital visibility across platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and more.
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 6th
- View the full report
World's most admired cities
Ipsos’ City Brands Index ranked the world’s most admired cities out of 50 evaluated. The rankings were based on 5,000 virtual interviews in 10 countries, including the United States, France, China, Brazil, Germany, and more.
- 2022
- Barcelona ranked 7th
- View the full report
Attractions and culture
World's best sports cities
Burson Cohn & Wolfe Sports ranked the top 50 sports cities in the world, looking at how associated a city is with its sports culture from the perspective of international federations and sports industry experts, as well as a digital analysis of how often the word “sport” shows up on online platforms in association with a city.
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 8th
- View the full report
Best small community tourism
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation ranked the top 32 best towns and villages for tourism in its Best Tourism Villages list. The rankings were based on cultural and natural resources and their promotion; economic, environmental and social sustainability; tourism development and prioritisation; infrastructure and connectivity; and health, safety and security.
- 2022
- Rupit, a small village in Catalonia under two hours from Barcelona, ranked 1st
- View the full ranking
Best Pizza outside of Italy
50 Top Pizza ranked the 50 best European pizzerias outside of Italy. The rankings were based on various qualities, including ingredient usage and origin, preparation, and restaurant atmosphere.
- 2023
- Barcelona’s Sartoria Panatieri ranked 1st and won Pizza of the Year, and Barcelona’s La Balmesina ranked 10th
- View the full ranking
Community
Top pride destinations
HomeToGo ranked the top cities in which to celebrate Pride. The rankings were based on travel connectivity, trending demand, LGBTQ+ nightlife, LGBTQ+ laws, and the affordability of accommodations.
- 2022
- Barcelona ranked 14th
- View the full ranking
Best cities for expats
InterNations’ Best Cities for Expats ranked 50 of the world’s top cities for expats based on a series of indexes: Quality of Life Index, Ease of Settling In Index, Working Abroad Index, Personal Finance Index, and Expat Essentials Index.
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 21st overall for best cities for expats.
- View the full report
Education
World university rankings
Quacquarelli Symonds’ World University Rankings ranked almost 1,500 institutions around the world based on academic reputation, number of international students, and more.
- 2023
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ranked 178th and Universitat de Barcelona ranked 184th
- View the full ranking
Best financial education
The Financial Times’ Executive Education Custom ranked the top 75 of the best business schools internationally. The rankings were based on faculty publications and feedback from recent graduates, current students, and clients with programmes commissioned at the business school.
- 2023
- Eada Business School in Barcelona ranked 47th and UPF Barcelona School of Management ranked 70th
- View the full report
Best global universities
U.S. News and World Report’s rankings for Best Global Universities, which includes 2,000 universities. The rankings were determined by the universities’ research performance and ratings by members of the academic community.
- 2022-23
- Universitat de Barcelona ranked 86th in the world and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ranked 143rd
- View the full ranking
Best global universities in europe
U.S. News and World Report’s rankings for Best Global Universities in Europe were based on a ranking of Best Global Universities. The rankings were determined by the universities’ research performance and ratings by members of the academic community.
- 2022-23
- Universitat de Barcelona ranked 27th in Europe and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ranked 52nd
- View the full ranking
Best student cities
Quacquarelli Symonds’ Best Student Cities Rankings ranked 140 university cities around the world based on current students’ opinions on affordability and desirability, among other factors.
- 2023
- Barcelona ranked 31st
- View the full ranking
Economy, progress and innovation
Top european cities of the future
fDi Intelligence ranked the top 10 European cities of the future. The rankings were based on the number of foreign direct investment projects a city has. Foreign direct investments are investments in a company from investors outside of the country where the company is located.
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 10th for European city of the future, however it won the FDI Strategy awards for cities.
- View the full ranking
Highest technological investment
Barcelona ranks eighth in the list of European cities that attract the most technological investment, receiving a total of $6.3 billion from foreign investors in the last 10 years. Barcelona and its wider metropolitan area continue to consolidate their position as a major European hub for attracting investment in the healthcare and health technology sectors.
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 8th
- View the full report
Most competitive global talent
INSEAD Business School’s Global Cities Talent Competitiveness Index ranked 175 of the world’s cities based on how attractive and competitive they are for international talent. The rankings were based on GDP per capita, internet speed, unemployment rates, presence of Forbes Global 2000 companies, size of international population, and foreign direct investment projects.
- 2022
- Barcelona ranked 82nd
- View the full report
Global power cities
The Japanese Mori Memorial Foundation’s Global Power City Index ranked 48 global cities based on six categories:
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- Economy (market size, market attractiveness, economic vitality, human capital, business environment, ease of doing business)
- Research and Development (academic resources, research environment, innovation)
- Cultural Interaction (trendsetting potential, tourism resources, cultural facilities, visitor amenities, international interaction)
- Livability (working environment, cost of living, security and safety, well-being, ease of living)
- Environment (sustainability, air quality and comfort, urban environment)
- Accessibility (international network, air transport capacity, inner-city transportation, transport comfortability)
- 2024
- Barcelona ranked 19th in the world overall. The city ranked 34th for economy, 36th for research and development, 11th for cultural interaction, 4th for livability, 25th for environment, and 11th for accessibility.
- View the full report
Global cities' readiness
Kearney’s Readiness for the Storm report ranked the top 30 global cities’ readiness for challenges like inflation and economic and political turmoil. The rankings were based on international academic and business advisors’ analysis of the current conditions of cities and their investments in their future growth. They were then cumulated into two lists: the Global Cities Index, which measures the current condition of a city, and the Global Cities Outlook, which measures the cities’ future investments.
- 2022
- Barcelona ranked 26th on the Global Cities Index and 29th on the Global Cities Outlook
- View the full report
Best cities for digital nomads
By Digital Nomads ranked 16 of the best cities in the world for digital nomads to explore. Cities were determined based on the city’s culture, internet speed, affordability, and other attractions relevant to digital nomads.
- 2023
- Barcelona ranked 10th
- View the full ranking
Best cities for remote work
Preply’s Workation Index ranked 75 global cities based on their attractiveness for remote work. The rankings were based on the climate and environment of the city, access to affordable housing, and human rights values.
- 2023
- Barcelona ranked 19th
- View the full report
Best conference cities
The International Congress and Convention Association ranked the top cities in the world by both their number of conference attendees each year and their number of conferences hosted.
- 2023
- Barcelona ranked 1st for its number of attendees and 4th for its number of events hosted
- View the full ranking
Resources
The following resources are available to find out more information about Barcelona’s statistics that contribute to its position in various rankings:
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