Casablanca: Global Cities Index 2026 jumps 31 spots

The Global Cities Index 2026, published by Oxford Economics, revealed the presence of seven Moroccan cities in a list of 1,000 major cities distributed across 163 countries around the world. Casablanca topped the Moroccan ranking by ranking 384 globally, advancing by 31 places compared to the previous version of the index, while the rest of the six Moroccan cities came in different ranks within the same classification. Rating methodology and evaluation criteria The indicator is based on five criteria Basic with different weights: economy at 30%, then human capital and quality of life at 25% each, followed by environment and governance at 10% each. Oxford Economics calculates these data based on what it calls “functional urban areas,” which include urban centers and their economically connected surroundings, while calling on researchers to tread carefully with comparisons between successive index versions given the likelihood of changes in the adopted methodology from year to year. The world's seven in the Global Cities Index 2026 (out of 1,000 cities) The city ranks 384 Casablanca Rabat 445 Tangier 622 Agadir 629 Fes 655 Marrakech 671 Meknes 708 Casablanca excels thanks to human capital Casablanca is especially distinguished from the rest of the Moroccan cities in the human capital standard, ranking 229 globally, ranking 20th among Arab cities at this level specifically. This superiority comes at a time when the economic capital is witnessing a remarkable investment momentum. Similar to Casablanca's Artificial Intelligence City, for which a $1.2 billion investment has been made. Tangier and Rabat are at the forefront of the environmental standard. Tangier and Rabat are ahead of the rest of the Moroccan cities, ranking 143rd and 144th globally, respectively. In contrast, all seven Moroccan cities share the same ranking in the governance standard (615 globally), due to the fact that this standard is measured at the national level and not at the level of each city separately. Why does this classification matter? The Global Cities Index is a reference tool for international investors and decision makers to assess the attractiveness of major cities and their business climate, by measuring their performance across five dimensions combined rather than just economic indicators alone. While Casablanca maintains its national lead and records remarkable progress with 31 centers, all seven Moroccan cities remain far from the first half of the global ranking of 1,000 cities, reflecting the margin of improvement that still exists, especially at the level of governance that Moroccan cities collectively scored in the same relatively lagging position.