Global Financial Centres Index Explained

The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranks the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 assessments from an online questionnaire and over 100 indices from organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The first index was published in March 2007. It has been jointly published twice per year by the London-based think tank Z/Yen and the China Development Institute since 2015.^[1] ^[2] It is widely quoted as a top source for ranking financial centres.^[3] ^[4] ^[5]

GFCI 36 (September 2024)

The 36th edition of the GFCI was published in September 2024.^[6] New York City, London and Hong Kong ranked top 3 globally.

Top 20 Centres in GFCI 36 (September 2024)
Rank	Centre	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1		763		1
2		750		3
3		749	1	8
4		747	1	5
5		742		2
6		740	3	4
7	Los Angeles	739	1	2
8	Shanghai	738	2	1
9	Shenzhen	732	2	2
10	Frankfurt	730	3	2
11	Seoul	729	1	6
12	Washington, D.C.	728		5
13	Geneva	726	6	12
14	Dublin	725	11	6
15	Paris	724	1	7
16	Dubai	723	4	1
17	Zurich	722	1	7
18	Beijing	721	3	9
19	Luxembourg	720	2	8
20	Tokyo	719	1	6

All Surveyed Centres in GFCI 36 (September 2024)
Rank	Centre	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1		763		1
2		750		3
3		749	1	8
4		747	1	5
5		742		2
6		740	3	4
7	Los Angeles	739	1	2
8	Shanghai	738	2	1
9	Shenzhen	732	2	2
10	Frankfurt	730	3	2
11	Seoul	729	1	6
12	Washington, D.C.	728		5
13	Geneva	726	6	12
14	Dublin	725	11	6
15	Paris	724	1	7
16	Dubai	723	4	1
17	Zurich	722	1	7
18	Beijing	721	3	9
19	Luxembourg	720	2	8
20	Tokyo	719	1	6
21		718		5
22		717		5
23		716		5
24		715	6	1
25		714	2	3
26		713	9	4
27		712	3	8
28		711	10	15
29		710	4	1
30		709	10	5
31		708		5
32		707	4	9
33		706	7	12
34		705	5	10
35		704	2	3
36		703	2	3
37		702	5
38		701	4	9
39		700	4	1
40		699	1	6
41		698	4	1
42		697	4	1
43		696	11	16
44		695	3	2
45		694	9	14
46		693	5	10
47		692	5
48		691		5
49		690	20	15
50		689	1	4
51		688	4	1
52		687	5
53		686	9	14
54		685	4	1
55		684	6	11
56		683	12	7
57		682	1	6
58		681	5	10
59		680	18	13
60		679	1	4
61		678	1	6
62		677	4	1
63		676	21	16
64		675	24	19
65		674	6	11
66		673	16	21
67		672		5
68		671	7	2
69		670	11	6
70		669		5
71		668	9	14
72		667	1	6
73		666		5
74		665	10	15
75		664	7	2
76		663	22	27
77		662	14	19
78		661	13	18
79		660	27	34
80		659	4	9
81		658	2	7
82		657	9	4
83		656	11	16
84		655	1	6
85		654		5
86		653	12	19
87		652	13	18
88		651	10	15
89		650	2	7
90		649	4	3
91		648	10	15
92		647	5	9
93		646	7	12
94		645	4	9
95		644	2	4
96		643	4	6
97		642	5	12
98		641	9	14
99		640	3	1
100		638		6
101		637	2	4
102		636	7	5
103		635	8	18
104		632	6	13
105		629	3	6
106		627	3	2
107		626	2	6
108		618	4	10
109		617	2	7
110		616	9	15
111		615	6	12
112		614	3	6
113		616	1	6
114		609	1	5
115		608	1	1
116		607
117		604		5
118		597	2	10
119		590	1	6
120		589	1	6
121		586		14

Ranking by region

Western Europe
Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
2	750		3
10	730	3	2
13	726	6	12
14	725	11	6
15	724	1	7
17	722	1	7
19	720	2	8
26	713	9	4
27	712	3	8
29	710	4	1
30	709	10	5
37	709	5
40	699	1	6
43	696	11	16
45	694	9	14

Asia/Pacific
Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
3	749	1	8
4	747	1	5
8	738	2	1
9	732	2	2
11	729	1	6
18	721	3	9
20	719	1	6
25	714	2	3
28	711	10	15
31	708		5
32	707	4	9
34	705

5 || 10|-| 39 ||

Chengdu || 700 || 4 || 1|-| 44 || Osaka || 695 || 3 || 2|-| 46 ||

Wellington || 693 || 5 || 10|}

North America
Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1	763		1
5	742		2
6	740	3	4
7	739	1	2
12	728		5
21	718		5
22	717		5
23	716		5
24	715	6	1
33	706	7	12
36	703	2	3
38	701	4	9
41	698	4	1
42	697	4	1

Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
62	677	4	1
86	653	12	19
91	648	10	15
92	647	5	9
93	646	7	12
99	640	3	1
101	637	2	4
104	632	6	13
106	627	3	2
108	618	3	10
111	615	6	12
114	609	1	5
116	607
118	597	2	10
119	590	1	6
120	589	1	6

Middle East & Africa
Global Rank	Centre	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
16		723	4	1
35		704	2	3
48		691		5
57		682	1	6
60		679	1	4
63		676	21	16
64		675	24	19
67		672		5
69		670	11	6
75	Johannesburg	664	7	2
80		659	4	9
84		655	1	6
100		638		6
102		636	7	5
113		610	1	6

Latin America & Caribbean
Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
79	660	27	34
81	658	2	7
85	654		5
89	650	2	7
90	649	4	3
96	643	4	6
103	635	8	18
107	626	2	6
109	617	2	7
112	614	3	6
115	608	1	1
117	604		5
121	586		14

Financial centre profiles (GFCI 36, September 2024)

The latest report ranked 120 international financial centres into the following matrix:

Financial Centre Profiles (GFCI 36, September 2024)
Level	Broad and deep Global leaders	Relatively broad Global diversified	Relatively deep Global specialists	Emerging Global contenders
Global	London New York Washington, D.C. Paris Los Angeles Tokyo Zurich Amsterdam Dublin* Frankfurt	Singapore* Seoul Kuala Lumpur Brussels	Dubai Abu Dhabi Casablanca* Mauritius Hong Kong Luxembourg	Beijing* Istanbul* Shanghai*
Level	Broad and deep Established international	Relatively broad International diversified	Relatively deep International specialists	Emerging International contenders
International	Boston Chicago* Busan Edinburgh Berlin Rome Milan Geneva Montreal Toronto Munich Sydney Osaka Hamburg Melbourne Miami Vancouver Stuttgart	Bangkok Vienna* Madrid* Stockholm San Francisco* Athens Copenhagen*	Mumbai* GIFT City-Gujarat* Riyadh* Bermuda* Qingdao Shenzhen Tel Aviv Astana Jersey	Moscow Mexico City Panama* Bahamas Nairobi Bahrain Jakarta Doha Lagos New Delhi Johannesburg Cape Town Guangzhou* São Paulo Kigali* British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Taipei* Liechtenstein*
Level	Broad and deep Established players	Relatively broad Local diversified	Relatively deep Local specialists	Emerging Evolving centres
Local	Oslo* San Diego Glasgow Calgary* Minneapolis/St Paul Wellington	Santiago Lisbon Warsaw Prague Atlanta* Helsinki*	Rio de Janeiro* Tallinn* Malta Ho Chi Minh City* Chengdu Lugano Xi'an* Hangzhou* Wuhan* Tianjin* Reykjavík Monaco Nanjing Gibraltar Dalian	Baku Manila* Buenos Aires Sofia Riga Cyprus Saint Petersburg Budapest Tehran Bogotá* Guernsey* Bratislava Vilnius Almaty Trinidad and Tobago Barbados Isle of Man* Kuwait City

An asterisk (*) denotes centres that have moved between categories between GFCI 35 and GFCI 36.

Top 15 centres by area of competitiveness

This is run for five separate areas of competitiveness to assess how financial centres perform in each of the areas.

Level	Business environment	Human capital	Infrastructure	Financial sector development	Reputational and general
1					New York City
2	Singapore	London	Singapore	Singapore	London
3	London	Hong Kong	London	Shanghai	Singapore
4	Hong Kong	Singapore	Hong Kong	London	Hong Kong
5	Shanghai	San Francisco	Seoul	San Francisco	San Francisco
6	San Francisco	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Shanghai
7	Chicago	Chicago	Shenzhen	Chicago	Chicago
8	Los Angeles	Washington, D.C.	San Francisco	Hong Kong	Los Angeles
9	Seoul	Shanghai	Chicago	Beijing	Tokyo
10	Geneva	Tokyo	Shanghai	Washington, D.C.	Dublin
11	Beijing	Paris	Frankfurt	Shenzhen	Beijing
12	San Diego	Seoul	Beijing	Seoul	Dubai
13	Frankfurt	Zurich	Luxembourg	Geneva	Boston
14	Toronto	Dublin	Dubai	San Diego	Shenzhen
15	Shenzhen	San Diego	Washington, D.C.	Boston	Frankfurt

Key areas

The business environment factors aggregate and value the regulation, tax rates, levels of corruption, economic freedom and how difficult in general it is to do business. To measure regulation an online questionnaire has been used.

The human capital factors summarize the availability of a skilled workforce, the flexibility of the labour market, the quality of the business education and the skill-set of the workforce, and quality of life.

The infrastructure factors account for the price and availability of office space at the location, as well as public transport.

The financial sector development factors assess the volume and value of trading in capital markets and other financial markets, the cluster effect of the number of different financial service companies at the location, and employment and economic output indicators.

Reputational and general considers more subjective aspects such as innovation, brand appeal, cultural diversity and competitive positioning.

Top 15 centres by industry sector

The index provides sub-rankings in the main areas of financial services – banking, investment management, insurance, professional services, government and regulation, finance, fintech, and trading.

Level	Banking	Investment management	Insurance	Professional services	Government and regulatory	Finance	Fintech	Trading
1					New York City	Shenzhen	New York City	New York City
2	Shenzhen	New York City	London	Singapore	Singapore	New York City	Singapore	Singapore
3	London	Shenzhen	Hong Kong	London	London	Hong Kong	London	Shanghai
4	Hong Kong	London	Shenzhen	Hong Kong	Shanghai	London	Hong Kong	Seoul
5	Shanghai	Singapore	Shanghai	Seoul	Hong Kong	Shanghai	San Francisco	London
6	Chicago	Shanghai	Beijing	San Francisco	Chicago	Chicago	Dubai	Los Angeles
7	Singapore	Dublin	Singapore	Los Angeles	Zurich	San Francisco	Frankfurt	Chicago
8	Beijing	San Francisco	San Francisco	Chicago	Luxembourg	Singapore	Seoul	Beijing
9	San Francisco	Frankfurt	Sydney	Zurich	Seoul	Beijing	Los Angeles	San Francisco
10	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Luxembourg	Beijing	Washington, D.C.	San Diego	Hong Kong
11	Frankfurt	Beijing	Tokyo	Dubai	Frankfurt	Tokyo	Chicago	Paris
12	Washington, D.C.	Tokyo	Zurich	Frankfurt	Washington, D.C.	Los Angeles	Toronto	Washington, D.C.
13	Geneva	Geneva	Chicago	Dublin	Tokyo	Dubai	Geneva	Frankfurt
14	Boston	Paris	Washington, D.C.	Shanghai	San Francisco	Seoul	Zurich	Tokyo
15	Paris	Chicago	Geneva	Shenzhen	Los Angeles	Frankfurt	Busan	Geneva

Reputation

The index measures a financial centre's reputation by calculating the difference between weighted average of financial professionals' opinions and the GFCI rating of each locale.

Top 15 Centres by Reputation
Weighted Average Assessment	GFCI 36 Rating	GFCI 36 Reputational Advantage
872	700	172
854	687	167
872	732	140
823	708	115
812	705	107
750	679	71
826	763	63
810	750	60
685	627	58
797	747	50
778	728	50
790	742	48
797	749	48
690	645	45
683	641	42

Bottom 15 Centres by Reputation
Weighted Average Assessment	GFCI 36 Rating	GFCI 36 Reputational Advantage
657	718	-61
648	710	-62
636	698	-62
527	590	-63
544	609	-65
544	609	-65
581	649	-68
569	640	-71
534	607	-73
636	721	-85
495	586	-91
562	653	-91
541	638	-97
483	589	-106
588	706	-118

Notes and References

Web site: The Global Financial Centres Index 20 . Mark . Yeandle . September 2016 . Long Finance . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230718082452/https://www.longfinance.net/publications/long-finance-reports/the-global-financial-centres-index-20/ . Jul 18, 2023 .
News: Jones . Huw . 24 March 2022 . New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221008203627/https://www.reuters.com/business/new-york-widens-lead-over-london-top-finance-centres-index-2022-03-24/ . Oct 8, 2022 . 10 September 2022 . Reuters . en . Rankings are based on surveys and 150 factors, with quantitative measures from the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD and United Nations..
Web site: Yoshio Okubo. Comparison of Global Financial Center . Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Japan-U.S. Symposium . 30 May 2015 . October 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150530225543/http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/about/pifs/symposia/japan/2014-japan/okubo-presentation.pdf . 30 May 2015 .
Web site: New York Strips London of Mantle as World's Top Financial Center . subscription . John . Glover . Bloomberg L.P. . 30 May 2015 . 17 March 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150609062132/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-15/new-york-steals-london-s-mantle-as-world-s-top-financial-center . Jun 9, 2015 .
News: New York and London vie for crown of world's top financial centre . 24 May 2015 . The Financial Times . subscription . 1 October 2014 . Michael . Pooler . live . https://archive.today/20141002133556/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b388de4c-174b-11e4-87c0-00144feabdc0.html%23axzz3EziEfEit . 2 Oct 2014 .
Web site: GFCI 36 Rank - Long Finance . 2024-09-24 . www.longfinance.net.

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
2	750		3
10	730	3	2
13	726	6	12
14	725	11	6
15	724	1	7
17	722	1	7
19	720	2	8
26	713	9	4
27	712	3	8
29	710	4	1
30	709	10	5
37	709	5
40	699	1	6
43	696	11	16
45	694	9	14

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
3	749	1	8
4	747	1	5
8	738	2	1
9	732	2	2
11	729	1	6
18	721	3	9
20	719	1	6
25	714	2	3
28	711	10	15
31	708		5
32	707	4	9
34	705

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1	763		1
5	742		2
6	740	3	4
7	739	1	2
12	728		5
21	718		5
22	717		5
23	716		5
24	715	6	1
33	706	7	12
36	703	2	3
38	701	4	9
41	698	4	1
42	697	4	1

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
62	677	4	1
86	653	12	19
91	648	10	15
92	647	5	9
93	646	7	12
99	640	3	1
101	637	2	4
104	632	6	13
106	627	3	2
108	618	3	10
111	615	6	12
114	609	1	5
116	607
118	597	2	10
119	590	1	6
120	589	1	6

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
79	660	27	34
81	658	2	7
85	654		5
89	650	2	7
90	649	4	3
96	643	4	6
103	635	8	18
107	626	2	6
109	617	2	7
112	614	3	6
115	608	1	1
117	604		5
121	586		14

Weighted Average Assessment	GFCI 36 Rating	GFCI 36 Reputational Advantage
872	700	172
854	687	167
872	732	140
823	708	115
812	705	107
750	679	71
826	763	63
810	750	60
685	627	58
797	747	50
778	728	50
790	742	48
797	749	48
690	645	45
683	641	42

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
2	750		3
10	730	3	2
13	726	6	12
14	725	11	6
15	724	1	7
17	722	1	7
19	720	2	8
26	713	9	4
27	712	3	8
29	710	4	1
30	709	10	5
37	709	5
40	699	1	6
43	696	11	16
45	694	9	14

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
3	749	1	8
4	747	1	5
8	738	2	1
9	732	2	2
11	729	1	6
18	721	3	9
20	719	1	6
25	714	2	3
28	711	10	15
31	708		5
32	707	4	9
34	705

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1	763		1
5	742		2
6	740	3	4
7	739	1	2
12	728		5
21	718		5
22	717		5
23	716		5
24	715	6	1
33	706	7	12
36	703	2	3
38	701	4	9
41	698	4	1
42	697	4	1

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
62	677	4	1
86	653	12	19
91	648	10	15
92	647	5	9
93	646	7	12
99	640	3	1
101	637	2	4
104	632	6	13
106	627	3	2
108	618	3	10
111	615	6	12
114	609	1	5
116	607
118	597	2	10
119	590	1	6
120	589	1	6

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
79	660	27	34
81	658	2	7
85	654		5
89	650	2	7
90	649	4	3
96	643	4	6
103	635	8	18
107	626	2	6
109	617	2	7
112	614	3	6
115	608	1	1
117	604		5
121	586		14

Weighted Average Assessment	GFCI 36 Rating	GFCI 36 Reputational Advantage
872	700	172
854	687	167
872	732	140
823	708	115
812	705	107
750	679	71
826	763	63
810	750	60
685	627	58
797	747	50
778	728	50
790	742	48
797	749	48
690	645	45
683	641	42

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
2	750		3
10	730	3	2
13	726	6	12
14	725	11	6
15	724	1	7
17	722	1	7
19	720	2	8
26	713	9	4
27	712	3	8
29	710	4	1
30	709	10	5
37	709	5
40	699	1	6
43	696	11	16
45	694	9	14

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
3	749	1	8
4	747	1	5
8	738	2	1
9	732	2	2
11	729	1	6
18	721	3	9
20	719	1	6
25	714	2	3
28	711	10	15
31	708		5
32	707	4	9
34	705

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
1	763		1
5	742		2
6	740	3	4
7	739	1	2
12	728		5
21	718		5
22	717		5
23	716		5
24	715	6	1
33	706	7	12
36	703	2	3
38	701	4	9
41	698	4	1
42	697	4	1

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
62	677	4	1
86	653	12	19
91	648	10	15
92	647	5	9
93	646	7	12
99	640	3	1
101	637	2	4
104	632	6	13
106	627	3	2
108	618	3	10
111	615	6	12
114	609	1	5
116	607
118	597	2	10
119	590	1	6
120	589	1	6

Global Rank	Rating	Change in rank	Change in rating
79	660	27	34
81	658	2	7
85	654		5
89	650	2	7
90	649	4	3
96	643	4	6
103	635	8	18
107	626	2	6
109	617	2	7
112	614	3	6
115	608	1	1
117	604		5
121	586		14

Weighted Average Assessment	GFCI 36 Rating	GFCI 36 Reputational Advantage
872	700	172
854	687	167
872	732	140
823	708	115
812	705	107
750	679	71
826	763	63
810	750	60
685	627	58
797	747	50
778	728	50
790	742	48
797	749	48
690	645	45
683	641	42