Barcelona: city indicators and

international benchmarking

Àngels Santigosa

Research Department

Economy, Business and Employment Area

Barcelona City Council

IRBC Conference, Munich, 5-7 November 2014

Introduction

1. Barcelona has a long tradition of working on city indicators.

The municipal Statistics Department is more than 100 years

old.

2. From the economic and competitiveness perspectives,

current lines of analysis include:

a) Measuring and monitoring the Strategic City Map

implementation.

b) Updating and analyzing city indicators about economic

activity, business, labour market, innovation, talent... See

the Barcelona Datasheet as a relevant example.

c) City benchmarkíng, in order to compare Barcelona´s

performance to that of other cities of the world: the

Barcelona Observatory.

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The Barcelona Observatory an exemple of cooperation

between the public and private sectors

Promoters:

• The Barcelona City Council, through its Economy, Business and

Employment Area

• The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce through the Cabinet for

Economic Studies

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• Objectives:

• Transfer of information, knowledge and experience about

the city

• To promote the image of Barcelona in the world

• Attracting headquarters and major international events.

The Barcelona Observatory: main characteristics

• Provides up to date information on the most relevant aspects of the

city of Barcelona from a comparative perspective, based on

international prestigious sources (universities, consultancy firms,

institutions…)

• Offers references which may be used as a basis for decision making by

economic agents interested in carrying out or setting up business in

Barcelona

• It allows a periodical comparison of the position of Barcelona in terms

of other cities for each of the indicators analysed

• It is prepared using a set of indicators (29), preferably defined at a city

level

• The data are obtained for a sample which can include up to 60 cities

from around the world

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Indicators grouped into six thematic areas

1. A city for business

2. Knowledge society

3. Tourism

4. Sustainability and quality of life

5. Prices and costs

6. Labour market and training

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1. A city for business (I)

European cities with best prospects for 2014/2015

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

1. A city for business (II)

Main cities in the world receiving foreign investment projects in 2013

Source: Global Cities Investment Monitor 2014, KPMG.

1. A city for business (III)

Entrepreneurial activity in countries across the world in 2013

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

1. A city for business (IV)

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

Main cities in the world hosting international meetings in 2013

Barcelona among the world’s top cities for scientific production in 2013

2. Knowledge society

According to Max Planck Society, three Catalan research institutes ranked among the top 20 institutions for scientific

excellence in the fields of physics and astronomy, among which the Institute of Photonic Sciences ranked first.

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

3. Tourism (I)

Barcelona has one of the top 10 major airports ranking in Europe

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

3. Tourism (II)

The Port of Barcelona, leader in Europe and fourth world port in terms of cruise

passengers

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

Smart and sustainable cities in 2013

4. Sustainability and quality of life (I)

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

Barcelona, amongst the top world cities in terms of quality of life

4. Sustainability and quality of life (II)

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

5. Prices and costs

Cost of living in the world’s cities in 2013 Salaries in the world’s cities in 2012

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

Cost of living and salaries in the world’s cities

6. Labour market and training

Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.

Barcelona is the only city with two business schools in the European top ten

Challenges for the future…

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New territorial realities: the megarregion Smart Cities: the city, urban lab for

innovation and quality of life improvement

Final comments

• In a world where urban areas are the main drivers of global

economic growth, city benchmarking is a necessary part of

urban indicators analysis.

• New territorial realities (megarregions), economic sectors

(Mobile) and concepts (business friendly cities, Smart Cities…)

demand new indicators and analysis tools.

• There is a wide range of statistics and data that allow

homogeneous comparisons among European cities.

• In the last years the availability of data comparing world cities

has increased, but there is still much work to be done.

• International prestigious institutions (such as the OECD) and

city networks (as IRBC) could make a great contribution to

improve this situation.

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Thank you!