Three years in a row Vilnius is among the three most promising cities in Europe
For the third time in a row, the name of Vilnius was shining at the election of the Europe’s most promising city organised by fDi Intelligence, an investment expert division of one of the largest dailies in the world Financial Times. This year, the capital city was awarded the third place in the general category. After assessing the economic indicators of Vilnius, the experts ranked the city second in the field of human resources attraction, while in the category of economic potential, the capital city was among the top three.
Photograph of Vilnius city by Gabriel Khiterer
Vilnius was elected as the city with the biggest potential
Same as every year, the team of fDi Intelligence, an investment expert division of the Financial Times, assessed and published the economic, financial and business capacities of the European cities and regions. The aim of the election was to identify the most promising investment directions, cities with the best human resources, the business-friendliest legislation and investment strategy. Besides, after announcing the winners in individual categories, the commission also elected the future Europe’s city.
Vilnius was a runner-up in two categories: human resources and lifestyle ranking second, and third in the category of economic potential. In the categories of investment attraction strategy and business-friendliness environment, the capital city was ranked 5th and 6th, accordingly.
According to Vilnius City Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, the yearly high ranking of the capital city is the joint result of the sustainable business and work performed by the municipal institutions.
‘Despite geopolitical and economic challenges faced by Europe today, Vilnius continues rapidly economically growing and remains attractive to foreign investors. We can see that the policy implemented in the city, nurturement of talents, convenient infrastructure, etc. attract foreign investment, promote business startups. We have no doubt that Vilnius will hold its position among the top international level cities of the future’, said Mr. Benkunskas.
In the general category of medium-sized future European cities, Vilnius is ranked third. The top place was awarded to the largest city of Western Poland – Wroclaw, the second place went to the largest Swiss city Zurich.
‘I am happy to see Vilnius being noticed and holding its place among the top medium-sized future European cities for the third time in a row. The capital ranking second in the category of human resources and lifestyle only shows that Vilnius has plenty gifted people urging the city to move forward. As many as 18 different criteria were assessed in the category showing that Vilnius is not inferior to Western European cities in any respect’, said the Head of Go Vilnius Ms. Aleksandravičienė.
Growing startup ecosystem
Startups operating in the city attract increasing number of employees both from Lithuania and foreign countries on a yearly basis, while the general growth of high-tech sectors in the city is shown also in the latest statistics. In 2023, according to the data of Vilnius TechFusion, the startups operating in the city alone account for 91 per cent of the total value of Lithuanian startups, while the total value of the ecosystem amounts to EUR 12.4 billion. According to the Head of Go Vilnius Ms. Aleksandravičienė, the growth tendency is observed in various fields of high-tech industry.
‘Vilnius is the city of high innovations, where a big number of products and services with high value added are developed and exported. I can firmly state that the participants of Vilnius TechFusion ecosystem are among the most important factors shaping the economic face of the city. It is proved also by the third place awarded in the category of economic potential. We surpassed such cities as: Wroclaw, Bristol, Utrecht, Riga, Tallinn, and that further proves that we can walk hand in hand with Western Europe’, said the Head of Go Vilnius Ms. Aleksandravičienė.
The award ceremony of fDi Intelligence to honour the top-ranking cities will be held in March, at the world’s leading real estate event MIPIM, in Cannes, France.
