Dublin is 20th most reputable city

Dublin has been ranked the 20th most reputable city in the world in terms of business and social environment, outranking the likes of New York, Paris, Rome, Madrid, and Barcelona.

The latest edition of the annual City RepTrak survey from international consultancy the Reputation Institute sees Ireland jump 10 places from 30th a year ago and, with a score of 72.62 points, less than two points off a top 10 place.

The survey ranks cities in terms of advanced economy, appealing environment, and effective administration and measures public perception to things like infrastructure, business environment, safety, emotional appeal, and schools.

While the likes of Cairo, Nairobi, Karachi, Tehran, and Baghdad unsurprisingly occupy the last five places in the 100-city list, the rest of the chart is less predictable. For instance, no US city features inside the top 20 — New York, at 21, is the highest ranked. London only makes number nine, boosted by the feelgood factor of having hosted the Olympic Games last year.

Sydney, Toronto, Stockholm, Vienna, Venice, and Florence make up the top six cities, with Edinburgh, at number seven, ranked as the best UK city. Other notables were Tokyo at 31, Boston at 32, San Francisco 33, Berlin 35, Perth 36, and Los Angeles at 42.

Dublin impressed most in terms of economy and business environment. Driving the city’s improvement in the ranking were the country’s improving financial stability, increasing levels of foreign direct investment, and big global firms setting up offices there.

Niamh Boyle, managing director of Corporate Reputations, said: “Cities are major drivers of economic activity and the success of Dublin, as a capital city, is crucial for Ireland’s overall economy.

“Therefore, having a strong reputation for a city is critical as it helps with attracting FDI, tourism, and foreign knowledge and talent; and with exporting our products and services — all of which further drive economic activity.

“It’s encouraging that Dublin has improved its ranking but we must do more to improve our reputation. As our capital city, Dublin is the engine of the Irish economy, accounting for four out of every ten jobs, almost half of all goods and services produced, and nearly half of Ireland’s tax revenue.”