According to a study by Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) and private bank Berenberg Bank, Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart have the best prospects of German major cities. In contrast, industrial cities like Gelsenkirchen, Wuppertal and Chemnitz come last in respect to future prospects.

In light of recent trends in urbanisation, the companies decided to analyse the 30 biggest cities in Germany. Another reason for focussing on these cities is, according to Dr. Hans-Walter Peters, Co-owner of Berenberg Bank, that these cities have a significant impact on economic success of the whole of Germany.

When it comes to the number of inhabitants, Berlin’s 3.4 millions inhabitants top the list, whereas Krefeld (237,000 inhabitants) is the smallest city investigated. Only four of the 30
cities are located in Eastern Germany, while North Rhine-Westphalia, alone, shows 13 major cities.

The results of the study show, cities that are structured differently have favourable conditions for future developments and have different ways to be successful. The overall ranking shows Frankfurt/Main on top, closely followed by Munich and Stuttgart. Both cities are strong positions in education and research. With Wiesbaden and Dresden, two smaller cities, follow in fourth and fifth place. Prof. Dr. Thomas Straubhaar, director of HWWI, says: The conditions of the first four cities could be seen as very favourable because they have no deficits in the considered sectors. In particular Dresden increased its position in the recent past and is currently characterized by a prominent economic dynamism. Thus Dresden made it to the top-five of Germany.”

At the end of the rating you can find Chemnitz and cities located in the Ruhr area like
Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Krefeld and Wuppertal. These cities have low ranking positions in all sectors due to job losses and a shrinking population.

When it comes to the evaluation of the cities, 16 individual indicators were used in three investigations. The following three indicators were equally weighted in the overall ranking:

• Trend: summarizes current developments of the population, occupation and productivity
• Location: considers education, innovative ability, internationality and accessibility
• Demography: specifies demographic development trends until 2020

If you are interested in the whole city ranking, please click here.

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