Hong Kong ranks 8th place in the global Smart City Index 2025
What makes a 'smart' city, you ask? Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in collaboration with the International Society for Urban Informatics, have formulated the ISUI Smart City Index which uses public data to benchmark urban intelligence and human-centric quality of life in alignment with the needs, lived experiences, and well-being of residents to rate the 'smartness' of cities.
Six core dimensions of environment, social landscape, economy, infrastructure, citizens, and governance are key factors in the rankings. These drill further down into criteria about education, health, resource efficiency, pursuit of urban environmental sustainability, energy consumption, the role of emerging technologies, innovation, productivity, digital integration, employment opportunities, foundational urban systems, accessibility, and even interactions between government, citizens, and stakeholders. In short, this ISUI survey looks at factors that affect people's quality of life in our modern age, and how well our respective cities are providing these elements to their citizens.
Out of 73 cities surveyed, Stockholm sits in first place as the world's smartest city, with Washington, D.C. and Barcelona snapping at its heels. Tokyo ranks highest of all 25 Asian cities surveyed at number five, and Hong Kong comes in at a tidy eighth place, rounding out the only two cities in Asia represented in the top 10. (No sign of our usual competitors, Seoul, Singapore, and Shenzhen, until 13th, 21st, and 25th place, respectively.)
In an overview of the top 20 cities on the 2025 list, Hong Kong stood out in the environment, economy, and governance categories. Its current position at number eight is an improvement from the 2023 survey, where Hong Kong tied with London for ninth place.
Placing eight out of 73 isn't bad at all, but there's certainly room for improvement. What smart city developments do you think Hong Kong should focus on next?
Visit the International Society for Urban Informatics for the full report.
Top 10 cities in the Smart City Index 2025:
Stockholm
Washington, D.C.
Barcelona
London
Tokyo
Zurich
New York
Hong Kong
Copenhagen and Oslo (tied)
Burger King is closing its last urban branch in Hong Kong on August 31
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Time Out
4 days ago
- Time Out
Hong Kong ranks 8th place in the global Smart City Index 2025
In a recent global smart city study of 73 cities, Hong Kong has placed among the top 10 of the world's smart cities, beating out numerous urban powerhouses in Asia to come in at eighth place. What makes a 'smart' city, you ask? Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in collaboration with the International Society for Urban Informatics, have formulated the ISUI Smart City Index which uses public data to benchmark urban intelligence and human-centric quality of life in alignment with the needs, lived experiences, and well-being of residents to rate the 'smartness' of cities. Six core dimensions of environment, social landscape, economy, infrastructure, citizens, and governance are key factors in the rankings. These drill further down into criteria about education, health, resource efficiency, pursuit of urban environmental sustainability, energy consumption, the role of emerging technologies, innovation, productivity, digital integration, employment opportunities, foundational urban systems, accessibility, and even interactions between government, citizens, and stakeholders. In short, this ISUI survey looks at factors that affect people's quality of life in our modern age, and how well our respective cities are providing these elements to their citizens. Out of 73 cities surveyed, Stockholm sits in first place as the world's smartest city, with Washington, D.C. and Barcelona snapping at its heels. Tokyo ranks highest of all 25 Asian cities surveyed at number five, and Hong Kong comes in at a tidy eighth place, rounding out the only two cities in Asia represented in the top 10. (No sign of our usual competitors, Seoul, Singapore, and Shenzhen, until 13th, 21st, and 25th place, respectively.) In an overview of the top 20 cities on the 2025 list, Hong Kong stood out in the environment, economy, and governance categories. Its current position at number eight is an improvement from the 2023 survey, where Hong Kong tied with London for ninth place. Placing eight out of 73 isn't bad at all, but there's certainly room for improvement. What smart city developments do you think Hong Kong should focus on next? Visit the International Society for Urban Informatics for the full report. Top 10 cities in the Smart City Index 2025: Stockholm Washington, D.C. Barcelona London Tokyo Zurich New York Hong Kong Copenhagen and Oslo (tied) Burger King is closing its last urban branch in Hong Kong on August 31
Time Out
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Singapore is officially one of the smartest cities in Asia, according to the Smart City Index 2025
Singapore isn't just a beautiful city full of scenic green spaces amidst shiny high-rise buildings. We're big on the smarts too, as proven by the latest Smart City Index for 2025 – and there's clearly much depth beneath our compactness. Published by the International Society for Urban Informatics (ISUI), this Smart City Index 2025 ranking isn't just about smartness in the traditional sense of the word, nor is it purely about technological advancements. Rather, it makes use of global data to rank 73 cities based on six core dimensions: citizens, environment, social landscape, economy, infrastructure, and governance. Each dimension then further considers multiple objectives for a holistic view of a city's given level of 'smartness'. For example, under 'citizens', there's education, lifelong learning, and health; while under 'social landscape', there are factors like healthcare, housing, safety, and mobility, among others. They call it the Swiss standard of living for a reason, and Stockholm takes the trophy – followed by Washington, D.C. and Barcelona, Spain in the second and third spots. As to where Singapore stands on this list? Globally, we rank 21st – and there's good reason for us to be proud as we're part of the top five smartest cities within Asia. Tokyo stands strong as the number one smartest city in Asia (#5 globally), while other neighbouring cities in the region that beat us in ranking include Hong Kong (#8) and Seoul (#13). 20 smartest cities in the world in 2025: Stockholm, Sweden Washington, D.C, United States of America Barcelona, Spain London, United Kingdom Tokyo, Japan Zurich, Switzerland New York, United States of America Hong Kong Copenhagen, Denmark Oslo, Norway Geneva, Switzerland Helsinki, Finland Seoul, South Korea Auckland, New Zealand Beijing, China Philadelphia, United States of America Berlin, Germany Chicago, United States of America Paris, France Toronto, Canada 10 smartest cities in Asia in 2025: Tokyo, Japan Hong Kong Seoul, South Korea Beijing, China Singapore Yokohama, Japan Guangzhou, China Shanghai, China Busan, South Korea Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Check out the full list of world's smartest cities and have a more in-depth glimpse into the Smart City Index 2025 scoring methodology here.
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