Reliable for investors and people-friendly: Moscow ahead of many cities in world rankings

Fitch Ratings has confirmed Moscow’s credit rating at the investment level, which means that the city’s budget and credit performance are strong. The purpose of the credit rating is to show investors that they can invest their assets without fear of adverse economic conditions.

Ratings issued by the other two major agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, are also at the investment level.

Moscow has also won praise from international experts in a number of other areas.

City of the Future: The most advanced city in Eastern Europe

In a study released by Foreign Direct Investment Intelligence (FDI) Moscow ranked first in Eastern Europe as the most advanced city of the future in 2018-2019, which greatly enhances the city’s investment appeal. In the overall European ranking Moscow was sixth.

To compile this ranking, FDI analysed indicators in more than 100 categories, including the city’s GDP, life expectancy, the number of residents with higher education, road and transport infrastructure, access to rented office space, etc.

Moscow is the top city of the future in Eastern Europe

A city with investment appeal: Moscow in Europe’s top 5

In February 2018, The Financial Times released an investment appeal ranking for European cities, the fDi's European Cities and Regions of the Future 2018/19 ranking, in which Moscow ranked fifth overall, and first in Eastern Europe.

The ranking is based on 97 indicators divided into several sections: economic potential, human resources and lifestyle, cost of doing business, infrastructure and business-friendly environment.

Moscow has become one of Europe’s top five cities in investment appeal

Jobs and technology parks: A new economy

Analysts from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) compared Moscow, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai to rank them by the development of new economies. The purpose of the study was to compare them in terms of their ability to attract the best researchers and entrepreneurs, smart investment and technology.

Moscow ranked first in the number of jobs created in the Knowledge category and was second only to Berlin in terms of the availability of technology start-ups.  In addition, Moscow was third in the number of technology start-ups, behind New York and London.

E-government: First in a UN ranking

Moscow ranked first among 40 cities of the world in a UN study assessing e-government development. The analysts paid special attention to services and projects designed to promote engagement of city residents in local initiatives. Moscow offers a number of platforms to this effect, including the Active Citizen project, Our City portal and a crowdsourcing portal.

A people-friendly environment: Highest growth rate

BCG analytics show that Moscow was ahead of 11 megacities with comparable populations and income levels in terms of the pace with which it is developing a people-friendly environment. In fact, Moscow was ahead of Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Mexico, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai in this ranking.

In addition, Moscow ranked second among these cities by public green space and landmarks.

Transport and green space: A top 3 megacity

In 2017, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) compared megacities in terms of urban development. Moscow ranked second in the density of rail transport, road construction and green space, taking into consideration population density.

Within a short walk: The most user-friendly social infrastructure

Another PwC study showed that Moscow has the most accessible social infrastructure in the world. Experts compared the Russian capital to 13 megacities: New York, Paris, Shanghai, London, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Berlin, Barcelona, Mexico City and Chicago.

The average home-to-school distance in Moscow is less than 400 metres, while in other cities it is 1.2 kilometres on average.

Moscow: Global leader in terms of comfortable and affordable social infrastructure

Medical care: Top 5 among developing cities in quality

Moscow was in the top 5 of developing cities with the best medical services, a study by PwC shows. The Russian capital ranks first in the world in the availability of general practitioners, and analysts praised the cardio network as one of the best healthcare initiatives.

Moscow education: In the world’s top 5

Bain & Company studied education systems in 20 megacities around the world, ranking Moscow in the top 5.

Analysts focused on three areas: Knowledge, Digital and Individual Talent. In the Knowledge section, Moscow ranked fifth after Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Moreover, Moscow topped the ranking in terms of access to education and was fourth in the number of winners and medallists in international math, science and humanities academic excellence contests.

Additionally, experts praised Moscow for introducing electronic diaries and the digital system for recording students entering and leaving school buildings.

Rapid and effective: City transport

McKinsey & Company studied urban transport in 24 megacities in the world.

Moscow ranked sixth in the quality of transport systems, behind Singapore, Paris, Hong Kong, London and Madrid. Experts found Moscow’s transit system to be efficient, rapid, passenger-friendly and affordable. They also highlighted the rapid expansion of the Moscow Metro system and the creation of bus lanes for surface transit.