Globalization and World Cities Research Network

GaWC city classification

The GaWC examines cities worldwide to narrow them down to a roster of world cities, then ranks these based on their connectivity through four "advanced producer services": accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law. The GaWC inventory ranks city economics more heavily than political or cultural factors. Beyond the categories of "Alpha" world cities (with four sub-categories), "Beta" world cities (three sub-categories), and "Gamma" world cities (three sub-categories), the GaWC cities include additional cities at "High sufficiency" and "Sufficiency" level.

GaWC published city classifications in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. The 2004 rankings added several new indicators while continuing to rank city economics more heavily than political or cultural factors. The 2008 roster, similar to the 1998 version, is sorted into categories of Alpha world cities (with four sub-categories), Beta world cities (three sub-categories), Gamma world cities (three sub-categories), and additional cities with High sufficiency or Sufficiency presence. The list has been prone to change in the ranks. For example, some cities that were selected prior to 2018, such as the United States cities of Greensboro and Providence, are no longer classified as sufficient level.

2024 city classification

The classification results for 2020 are derived from the activities of 175 leading firms providing advanced producer services across 802 cities worldwide. The results should be interpreted as indicating the importance of cities as nodes in the world city network (i.e. enabling corporate globalization). The cities in the 2024 classification are as follows, listed in alphabetical order per section:

(1) or (1) indicates a city moved one category up or down since the 2022 classification.

Alpha

Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states/regions and highly integrated into the world economy. Alpha level cities are classified into four sections: Alpha++, Alpha+, Alpha, and Alpha− cities.

Alpha++

Alpha ++ cities are cities most integrated with the global economy:

• GBR London
• USA New York

Alpha+

Alpha+ cities are "other highly integrated cities that complement London and New York, largely filling in advanced service needs for the Pacific/Asia [region]":

• CHN Beijing
• ARE Dubai
• HKG Hong Kong
• FRA Paris
• CHN Shanghai
• SIN Singapore
• AUS Sydney (1)
• JPN Tokyo

Alpha

Alpha and Alpha- cities are "very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy":

• NLD Amsterdam
• THA Bangkok (1)
• USA Chicago
• DEU Frankfurt
• CHN Guangzhou (1)
• TUR Istanbul
• IDN Jakarta
• MAS Kuala Lumpur
• USA Los Angeles
• ESP Madrid
• MEX Mexico City
• ITA Milan
• IND Mumbai
• BRA São Paulo
• KOR Seoul
• CAN Toronto
• POL Warsaw

Alpha−

• DEU Berlin
• USA Boston
• BEL Brussels (1)
• ARG Buenos Aires
• IRL Dublin
• DEU Düsseldorf (1)
• USA Houston (1)
• RSA Johannesburg
• POR Lisbon
• LUX Luxembourg City (1)
• AUS Melbourne
• DEU Munich
• IND New Delhi
• SAU Riyadh
• USA San Francisco
• CHL Santiago
• CHN Shenzhen
• SWE Stockholm
• TAI Taipei
• AUT Vienna
• USA Washington, D.C.
• SUI Zurich

Beta

Beta level cities are cities that link moderate economic regions to the world economy and are classified into three sections: Beta+, Beta, and Beta− cities.

Beta+

• GRE Athens
• USA Atlanta
• NZL Auckland
• ESP Barcelona
• IND Bengaluru (1)
• COL Bogotá (1)
• ROM Bucharest
• HUN Budapest
• CHN Chengdu
• USA Dallas
• QAT Doha
• DEU Hamburg
• CHN Hangzhou
• VIE Ho Chi Minh City (1)
• PER Lima
• USA Miami
• CAN Montreal
• CZE Prague (1)
• ITA Rome
• CHN Tianjin

Beta

• UAE Abu Dhabi
• AUS Brisbane
• EGY Cairo (1)
• CAN Calgary (1)
• CHN Chongqing
• DNK Copenhagen (1)
• CHN Dalian (1)
• SUI Geneva
• VIE Hanoi (1)
• CHN Jinan
• UKR Kyiv (1)
• BHR Manama
• PHL Manila (2)
• KEN Nairobi (1)
• CHN Nanjing
• NOR Oslo (1)
• AUS Perth
• CHN Shenyang (1)
• CHN Suzhou (2)
• ISR Tel Aviv (2)
• CHN Wuhan (1)
• CHN Xiamen (1)
• CHN Zhengzhou (2)

Beta−

• LBN Beirut (1)
• SER Belgrade
• SVK Bratislava (1)
• VEN Caracas (1)
• MAR Casablanca (2)
• CHN Changsha
• IND Chennai (1)
• USA Denver (1)
• CHN Hefei (2)
• FIN Helsinki (1)
• PAK Karachi (1)
• CHN Kunming (1)
• NGA Lagos (1)
• FRA Lyon (1)
• GBR Manchester (1)
• URU Montevideo (2)
• CYP Nicosia
• PAN Panama City (1)
• USA Philadelphia
• MUS Port Louis (6)
• CHN Qingdao (1)
• BRA Rio de Janeiro (1)
• USA Seattle (1)
• BUL Sofia (1)
• DEU Stuttgart
• CAN Vancouver (1)
• CHN Xi'an (2)
• HRV Zagreb

Gamma

Gamma level cities are cities that link smaller economic regions into the world economy and are classified into three sections: Gamma+, Gamma, and Gamma− cities.

Gamma+

• AUS Adelaide (1)
• KAZ Almaty (2)
• JOR Amman
• BEL Antwerp
• USA Austin
• RSA Cape Town (2)
• LKA Colombo (1)
• BAN Dhaka (2)
• CHN Fuzhou (2)
• GUA Guatemala City
• IND Hyderabad (1)
• KWT Kuwait City (1)
• PAK Lahore
• USA Minneapolis
• POR Porto
• NED Rotterdam
• USA San Diego
• DOM Santo Domingo
• CHN Taiyuan (2)
• TUN Tunis (1)

Gamma

• IND Ahmedabad (2)
• GBR Birmingham (2)
• ITA Bologna (3)
• GBR Bristol (1)
• USA Detroit (1)
• CHN Haikou (1)
• CHN Harbin (1)
• PAK Islamabad
• UGA Kampala
• MEX Monterrey (1)
• OMN Muscat (1)
• USA Nashville (2)
• CHN Ningbo (2)
• JPN Osaka
• CAM Phnom Penh
• IND Pune (1)
• ECU Quito (2)
• LVA Riga (1)
• CRI San José (3)
• USA San Jose (1)
• SLV San Salvador
• USA Tampa (1)
• GEO Tbilisi
• HND Tegucigalpa (2)
• ALB Tirana (1)

Gamma−

• GHA Accra (2)
• AZE Baku
• USA Baltimore (1)
• ESP Bilbao (1)
• COL Cali (2)
• CHN Changchun (1)
• USA Charlotte
• USA Cleveland (1)
• TAN Dar es Salaam (2)
• GBR Edinburgh
• SAU Jeddah (1)
• POL Katowice (2)
• MAS Labuan (2)
• SVN Ljubljana (1)
• NIC Managua
• FRA Marseille (1)
• CHN Nanchang (1)
• MAS Penang (1)
• USA Pittsburgh (1)
• POL Poznań (2)
• USA St. Louis (2)
• IDN Surabaya (2)
• ITA Turin (2)
• ESP Valencia (2)
• NZL Wellington (1)

Sufficiency

Sufficiency level cities are cities that have a sufficient degree of services so as not to be overly dependent on world cities. This is sorted into high sufficiency cities and sufficiency cities.

High sufficiency

• DZA Algiers
• GBR Belfast
• USA Cincinnati (1)
• SEN Dakar (1)
• GBR Glasgow (1)
• SWE Gothenburg (1)
• MEX Guadalajara
• ECU Guayaquil
• ZWE Harare (2)
• USA Hartford (1)
• USA Indianapolis (1)
• TUR İzmir (1)
• USA Kansas City
• BOL La Paz
• GBR Leeds (1)
• CYP Limassol (1)
• ZMB Lusaka (2)
• MAC Macau (new)
• MOZ Maputo
• USA Phoenix
• MEX Querétaro
• USA Raleigh (1)
• CHN Shijiazhuang (1)
• MKD Skopje (1)
• LTU Vilnius (1)
• CHN Zhuhai (1)

Sufficiency

• DNK Aarhus
• GBR Aberdeen
• CIV Abidjan (1)
• NGA Abuja
• EGY Alexandria
• TUR Ankara (1)
• KAZ Astana
• PRY Asunción (1)
• CHN Baoding (new)
• COL Barranquilla
• SUI Basel
• BRA Belo Horizonte
• NOR Bergen
• SUI Bern
• USA Birmingham (new)
• MWI Blantyre
• FRA Bordeaux
• BRA Brasília (1)
• BRA Campinas
• AUS Canberra
• PHL Cebu City
• NZL Christchurch
• MEX Ciudad Juárez
• DEU Cologne (2)
• USA Columbus
• ARG Córdoba
• BRA Curitiba (1)
• USA Des Moines
• CHN Dongguan (new)
• CMR Douala (2)
• DEU Dresden
• RSA Durban (1)
• CAN Edmonton
• ITA Florence (new)
• CHN Foshan
• BWA Gaborone
• ITA Genoa
• CYM George Town
• CHN Guiyang
• CAN Halifax
• BER Hamilton
• DEU Hanover
• CHN Hohhot
• USA Jacksonville
• MAS Johor Bahru
• TAI Kaohsiung
• IND Kolkata (1)
• POL Kraków (1)
• CHN Lanzhou
• USA Las Vegas
• SUI Lausanne
• DEU Leipzig
• GAB Libreville
• BEL Liège
• FRA Lille
• AUT Linz
• GBR Liverpool
• POL Łódź
• USA Louisville
• ANG Luanda (1)
• ESP Málaga
• SWE Malmö
• DEU Mannheim
• COL Medellín (2)
• USA Memphis (new)
• USA Milwaukee (1)
• RUS Moscow (1)
• JPN Nagoya
• CHN Nanning
• FRA Nantes
• ITA Naples
• BHS Nassau (1)
• GBR Newcastle upon Tyne
• FRA Nice
• GBR Nottingham
• DEU Nuremberg
• USA Oklahoma City
• USA Orlando
• CAN Ottawa
• USA Palo Alto
• MNE Podgorica
• TTO Port of Spain
• USA Portland
• BRA Porto Alegre
• MEX Puebla
• BRA Recife
• USA Richmond
• USA Sacramento
• USA Salt Lake City
• BRA Salvador (new)
• USA San Antonio
• PUR San Juan (4)
• MEX San Luis Potosí City
• HND San Pedro Sula (new)
• BOL Santa Cruz de la Sierra
• BIH Sarajevo
• ESP Seville
• GBR Southampton
• FRA Strasbourg
• TAI Taichung
• EST Tallinn (1)
• CHN Tangshan (new)
• UZB Tashkent
• NLD The Hague
• MEX Tijuana
• FRA Toulouse
• USA Tulsa (new)
• MNG Ulaanbaatar
• CHN Ürümqi (1)
• NED Utrecht
• LAO Vientiane (new)
• CHN Wenzhou (new)
• NAM Windhoek
• CAN Winnipeg
• POL Wrocław
• CHN Wuxi
• MMR Yangon (1)
• ARM Yerevan
• CHN Yinchuan (new)

No longer classified

The following cities were included in previous editions, but not in the 2024 edition.

Last included in 2022

• MEX Aguascalientes City
• BRN Bandar Seri Begawan
• KGZ Bishkek
• DEU Bremen
• TUR Bursa
• SAU Dammam
• DEU Essen
• JPN Fukuoka
• FRA Grenoble
• AFG Kabul
• NPL Kathmandu
• RWA Kigali
• JAM Kingston
• IND Kochi
• MEX León
• MWI Lilongwe
• MEX Mérida
• MEX Mexicali
• RSA Pretoria
• CAN Quebec City
• ISL Reykjavík
• YEM Sanaa
• VEN Valencia

Last included in 2020

• IRQ Baghdad
• COG Brazzaville
• USA Buffalo
• KOR Busan
• GBR Cardiff
• MEX Chihuahua
• MDA Chișinău
• DEU Dortmund
• TJK Dushanbe
• BRA Goiânia
• AUT Graz
• ISR Haifa
• USA Harrisburg
• AUS Hobart
• USA Honolulu
• TAI Hsinchu
• ISR Jerusalem
• RUS Kazan
• COD Kinshasa
• JPN Kobe
• JPN Kyoto
• TGO Lomé
• MAS Malacca City
• BLR Minsk
• FRA Montpellier
• USA New Orleans
• RUS Novosibirsk
• USA Omaha
• ITA Palermo
• ZAF Port Elizabeth
• NGA Port Harcourt
• PNG Port Moresby
• USA Rochester
• ARG Rosario
• RUS Saint Petersburg
• JPN Sapporo
• CAN Saskatoon
• JPN Sendai
• GBR Sheffield
• FJI Suva
• TAI Tainan
• ITA Trieste
• CHL Valparaíso
• JPN Yokohama

Last included in 2018

• MDG Antananarivo
• GBR Leicester
• USA Madison
• CHN Nantong
• CHN Weifang
• CHN Xining

Last included in 2016

• IND Aligarh
• IND Allahabad
• IND Nagpur
• BRA Natal
• IND Nashik
• USA Providence
• LBY Tripoli

Last included in 2012

• USA Greensboro
• DEU Ludwigshafen

Last included in 2010

• GBR Norwich

Last included in 2004

• IRN Tehran

References

References

1. Taylor, Peter J.. (2004). "World city network: a global urban analysis". Routledge.
2. (2007). "Tourism and the branded city". [[Ashgate Publishing]].
3. (13 November 2018). "GaWC City Link Classification 2018". Lboro.ac.uk.
4. "The World According to GaWC".
5. "GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2010".
6. "GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2012".
7. "The World According to GaWC 2024".
8. "The World According to GaWC: World Cities 2024".
9. "The World According to GaWC: World Cities 2022".
10. "GaWC - The World According to GaWC".
11. "GaWC - The World According to GaWC".