City bright spots amid a global slowdown

Following a year of subdued global growth in 2023, we think a further softening of economic conditions is likely next year. Inevitably, this is reflected in the outlook for the world’s major cities, which in aggregate, will also see slower growth in 2024 than this year. But most cities will continue to outperform their national economies, and those at the top of the rankings should post healthy growth.

What you will learn:

• We think Indian cities will be amongst the strongest performers next year. Hyderabad and Bengaluru stand out, with GDP rising by around 9%, three times the Asia Pacific city average. Like most Indian cities, they are forecast to benefit from rising real incomes which supports fast growth across consumer services, as well as robust activity across a range of professional services in which they have become globally competitive.
• Bucharest, Budapest, and Warsaw are expected to be among Europe’s leaders in 2024. Each is likely to achieve growth in the 3-4% range, and whilst this doesn’t compare to that in the most dynamic Asia Pacific cities, they will easily outperform the European average.
• The US economy is expected to slow sharply in 2024, with GDP rising by just 0.2%. In this context, growth hotspots are harder to find, and we forecast all major metros will see slower growth next year than in 2023, and some failing to grow at all.