Toronto has just been listed among the top 20 of the world’s elite urban centres in a brand-new global ranking.
The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index has released its 2026 report, evaluating the world’s 1,000 largest cities across five core categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance.
Taking the crown as the highest-ranked city in Canada, Toronto scored an impressive 20th place overall worldwide, comfortably placing it in the top two per cent of all major global hubs.
With an overall score of 84.9, the city shone particularly bright in talent and economic influence. Toronto placed 14th in the world for Human Capital, thanks to its world-class educational institutions and highly skilled workforce, and locked in 19th place globally for its Economics score. The city also posted a stellar 90.0 in Governance, showing strong institutional stability across the board.
Canada had a remarkably strong showing overall on the prestigious list, with Vancouver following closely behind at number 24 and Montreal coming in at 62nd.
Here are the top 25 cities in the world according to the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2026 report:
- New York, United States
- London, United Kingdom
- Paris, France
- Seattle, United States
- San Francisco, United States
- Dublin, Ireland
- Boston, United States
- San Jose, United States
- Tokyo, Japan
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Oslo, Norway
- Los Angeles, United States
- Sydney, Australia
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Melbourne, Australia
- Dallas, United States
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Munich, Germany
- Toronto, Canada
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Berlin, Germany
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Vancouver, Canada
- Brussels, Belgium
You can check out the full rankings and explore how other global destinations stacked up right here on the Oxford Economics website.
