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)
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