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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? The world\u2019s emerging urban hotspots from Europe<\/a> to the Middle East have been revealed in a new economic report.<\/p>\n Oxford Economics<\/a>, an economic advisory firm, ranked \u201cemerging stars\u201d of the global economy in its Global Cities Index for 2026 in September.<\/p>\n The new \u201cCities to Watch\u201d section named five under-the-radar European cities, including Warsaw, Tallinn, Toulouse, Eindhoven and Manchester<\/a>.<\/p>\n The northern UK city ranked 90th overall for its economic growth, thriving cultural scene, appeal to young people and investment in critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n Oxford Economics said: \u201cManchester is booming. Since 2010, the city has experienced some of Europe\u2019s largest employment gains, has outpaced all other cities in the UK for both GDP and productivity growth, and has firmly positioned itself as a destination for professional services firms.\u201d<\/p>\n In North America, the report listed Boise, Durham, Jacksonville, San Antonio and Edmonton as cities that \u201cepitomise the continent\u2019s exceptionalism, combining strong productivity increases with robust and diverse employment growth\u201d.<\/p>\n As for Latin America, a mix of established capitals and emerging metropolitan economies featured including Bras\u00edlia, the capital of Brazil, and Colombia\u2019s Medell\u00edn.<\/p>\n Five ranked Asian cities include Bengaluru, India, and Shenzhen, China, with African capitals such as Nairobi also gaining prominence on the global stage.<\/p>\n Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE alongside Saudi Arabia\u2019s Riyadh have \u201cemerged onto the global stage with astonishing pace in the past few decades\u201d despite significant disruption in the Middle East, said the report.<\/p>\n Generally, the 2026 index continued to highlight the strength of global cities including New York, London, Paris and Tokyo.<\/p>\n Cities were scored across five categories: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance.<\/p>\n Mark Britton, managing director of city services at Oxford Economics, said: \u201cWhat unites the cities rising fastest is not geography but their climb up the global value chain into technology, advanced manufacturing, and business services, and their success in converting that into improving living standards.<\/p>\n \u201cThat thread runs through our new Cities to Watch section, which picks out emerging stars in every region, from Tallinn to Bengaluru, Nairobi to Monterrey.\u201d<\/p>\n Oxford Economics\u2019 2026 \u201cCities to Watch\u201d<\/p>\n Europe <\/p>\n
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