Barcelona has shown that it is a resilient city, capable of maintaining its attractiveness and good European and global economic positioning, after the ravages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the balance of the main economic and social indicators of 2021.
Collected in the annual report of the Observatori Barcelona, the 34 items analyzed by various international institutions and entities show a clear economic recovery and place the city, for the first time since 2016, among the 20 cities with the highest global competitiveness. Barcelona is, therefore, with the 18th position in the world and the 7th in Europe, a city highlighted for its economy, research and development, environment, cultural interaction, livability, and accessibility, according to the Global Power City Index 2021 report, by the Mori Memorial Foundation.
This translates into a favorable positioning among the top 25 cities in the world in terms of economic activity, quality of life, sustainability and social cohesion, labor market and training, and knowledge society, among others. It stands out among the top five cities in livability and is in 14th position in cultural interaction.
The city's attractiveness makes it a pole of economic activity and facilitates its ability to face future opportunities, as shown by the fact that it is also a leading technological hub in Europe with the attraction of foreign investment. Barcelona is the seventh European city in attracting technological investment ---Madrid occupies the tenth position---, according to the State of European Tech21 report, prepared by Atomico, with which the Catalan capital gains nine positions compared to 2020. Its position is better than that of places like Oxford, Vienna, Copenhagen, or Helsinki and it has climbed positions thanks to the fact that the entrepreneurial ecosystem has quadrupled the capital resources attracted in the international sphere.
The third indicator where Barcelona has made a greater leap is in the perception of safety (which includes personal safety, but also health or food safety), placing itself as the eleventh safest city in the world, compared to the 26th position in the previous edition, thus gaining 15 positions, according to the Safe Cities Index 2021, prepared by The Economist.
The attraction, training, and retention of talent is also one of the best advantages. Barcelona's labor appeal surpasses that of Sydney or Los Angeles and is one of only four European cities (with Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin) that is among the top 10 destinations for professionals worldwide.
The city stands out for its economy, research and development, environment, cultural interaction, liveability, and accessibility.The Observatori Barcelona, a publication jointly produced by the Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, also addresses sustainability and environmental aspects and the cost of living. In the latter, the city is number 84 in the world after climbing fifteen positions, but remains practically regularly as the 17th in Europe, according toWorldwide Cost of Living Survey.
As for sustainability, it is the 14th most sustainable city in Europe in 2021, according to the Schroders European Sustainable Cities Index, which monitors 13 environmental policies; and the 17th city in the world with the most sustainable mobility system, ranking among the top ten in terms of mobility infrastructure, with the promotion of bicycle use, among others.
During the presentation of the report, the first deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council, Jaume Collboni, highlighted that it shows that "Barcelona emerges with great strength" from this pandemic period and with a technological sector "in expansion", as demonstrated by job creation "becoming the city in Spain that has generated the most employment in 2021". Last December, Barcelona was the city of more than 500,000 inhabitants where there was the largest year-on-year reduction in registered unemployment (-32.5%), well above the state average (-20.1%).
However, both Collboni and the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Mònica Roca, agreed that efforts must continue to be made because the pandemic crisis has taken its toll on some specific sectors and that, although many businesses have been able to reinvent themselves, others have had to close, with the corresponding impact on the workforce. In fact, some aspects of the labor market and the impact on tourism are some negative indicators of a city that "is the best in southern Europe to invest in," Collboni concluded.
The president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce insisted that Barcelona has "an inclusive economic growth model, which creates quality jobs, in sectors such as technology, and with high added value", which position the city internationally.