Munich is doing well — and will continue doing so according to a recent study. The Bavarian capital is once again the city with the best future prospects in Germany.
Munich leads the fifth city ranking conducted by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) and Berenberg Private Bank. Of all thirty cities that were evaluated, the study concluded that Munich has the best economic performance, top-notch location factors and optimal demographic development. HWWI Director Prof. Dr. Henning Vöpel said:
“This cements the Bavarian capital’s competitive position as an outstanding knowledge metropolis vis-a-vis the other cities, with above-average economic prospects.”
Munich’s workforce has a higher percentage of employees with specialist or higher education degrees than any other city at 31.4%. Nearly half of all employees (48.5%) work in knowledge-intensive economic sectors. On a percentage basis, it had the second highest increase in the number of employees from 2011 to 2014 (+6.2%.) Munich also looks good in terms of international character, with the highest percentage of foreign employees at 18.4%. Future prospects for the Bavarian capital look excellent: by 2030, the city is expected to have the highest relative growth in total population (+16%), as well as the highest absolute growth in the labor force (+31,500.) The population under 20 years of age is anticipated to grow at an above-average rate.
“Skilled workers can be a critical bottleneck in the race to attract knowledge-intensive firms, so the future competitiveness of a city will increasingly depend on the development of its working-age population. With its high proportion of highly qualified workers and knowledge-intensive industries, Munich is in a very good position.”
The city only came in second to last regarding its number of high-school graduates with qualifications to enter university, and was rated in the lower mid-range for its average accessibility.
The cities Leipzig, Frankfurt, Dresden and Berlin were ranked after Munich. Number thirty and last on the list is Gelsenkirchen. The cities are evaluated based on current economic performance, future demographic development and key location-based factors such as education, innovation, internationality and accessibility.
The success of cities and their regions are interconnected
Berenberg Spokesman Dr. Hans-Walter Peters highlighted the importance of the ranking for the cities.
“Their success depends on how well they cope with the structural shift to knowledge-intensive service sectors and research-based industries.”
Future prospects for cities affect more than the urban population, added Peters:
“The dynamic development of these big cities is extremely important for the prosperity of their regions. Their success is crucial for the competitiveness of our country.”
The influence also goes in the other direction, commented Vöpel:
“Regional urban centers favor information exchange as well as the division of labor and specialization in the knowledge economy, which in turn benefits the economic development of the cities.”