London is officially the second-best city in the world, according to a prestigious new ranking

Here at Time Out, we can’t resist a city ranking – especially when London comes out on top. In one survey, our capital was named the greatest city in the world for the tenth year in a row and in another, it was declared the best city in Europe. Oh, it was also ranked one of the world’s best cities to explore on foot, the best sports city and one of the most ‘dynamic’ cities on the planet. 

Now, yet another ranking has bigged up the Big Smoke. Every year, advisory firm Oxford Economics digs into a bunch of economic, cultural, environmental and political factors to create its Global City Index. 

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It looked at  a whopping 1,000 cities across the globe, awarding each of them an overall score out of 100. And with a score of 98.5, London earned second place on the index for the second year in a row, beaten only by New York. 

The index said that London ‘has established itself as a perpetually relevant locale for business, science and technology, education, and the arts’ and ranked us number one in the world in the ‘human capital’ category. That encompasses things like population growth, educational attainment and corporate headquarters. 

The city’s three biggest strengths, according to Oxford Economics, are its number of universities, its large GDP size and its ‘lower emissions intensity’. 

Of course, London is far from perfect. The report pointed out that the capital’s largest weaknesses are high housing expenditure, less economic diversity and lower income quality. Never the less, Oxford Economics said: ‘The city is set to remain a top Global City for years to come, potentially fighting New York for the top spot.’

It’s official: 5 of Britain’s happiest places to live are in London. 

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