London consistently ranks among the world’s leading global cities, supported by its international economy, global connections, capacity for innovation and cultural influence, among many other factors. The city’s cultural life attracts people from across the world to live, work and study, while also playing an important role in the everyday lives of Londoners themselves. This chapter examines indicators about London’s status as a global city, the visitor economy, and participation in cultural life.
Global city status
Retaining London’s global city status is vital for sustaining the UK’s long‑term international competitiveness and global influence. This section considers London’s global position by reviewing the latest rankings of city competitiveness and data on levels of inward investment.
| Index Name | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPCI – Global Power City Index | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kearney Global Cities Index | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Schroders Global Cities Index | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Oxford Economics Global Cities Index | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Average ranking | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2 | 1.75 | 1.75 |
A number of organisations attempt to compare and rank cities by their global competitiveness and attractiveness. These rankings are composite measures combining multiple aspects of city performance. Looking at London’s ranking in some of the more commonly cited indices:
The Global Power City Index placed London first in 2025, highlighting its strengths in economic performance, research and development, cultural interaction, urban greenery, and accessibility.
The Kearney Global Cities Index placed London second in 2025, emphasising London’s business activity, cultural experience, and digital experience. New York ranked first in this index.
Schroders’ Global Cities Index, which incorporates economic performance, sustainability and investment appeal, placed London second in 2025, behind San Francisco, which retained the top spot for the third consecutive year.
The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index, which assesses cities based on 27 indicators across five categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment and Governance, ranked London second in 2025 behind New York.
London’s average ranking across these four indices was 1.75 in 2025, the same as it was in 2024. Despite global shocks such as the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 and recent conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the city has demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability.
The charts above show levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into London recorded by fDi Markets – measured on a quarterly basis by the number of projects and their size in capital expenditure (capex).
The number of projects peaked in Q1 2019 at 254, with a total of 669 projects for the whole of 2019, following steady growth from 2015. Project numbers declined during the pandemic, reaching a low of 69 in Q2 2020 (372 for the year), before rebounding to peak at 155 in Q2 2022 (485 for the year). The number of projects then moderated a touch to stand at 361 for the year in 2025.
Capital expenditure (Capex) associated with FDI has exhibited notable fluctuations over recent years. In Q4 2025, it spiked to reach £5.7 billion (£9.5 billion for the year) due, in part, to some large investments in data centres. That surpassed the previous pre-Covid quarterly peak of £3.5 billion in Q1 2018 but was below the annual total for 2018 of £10.2bn. During the pandemic, Capex declined, reaching a low of £320m in Q2 2020 (£3.3bn for the year) amid the global economic downturn.
Such variability is anticipated, as Capex figures are influenced by the scale and nature of individual projects, shifts in sectoral investment patterns, and broader economic conditions that affect investor confidence and risk appetite.
London attracted more inward FDI then any other major city in Europe in 2024 according to fDi Intelligence, with Dublin ranked second and Warsaw third1 .
Tourism
London’s culture, heritage and diversity attract visitors from around the world, and they are also enjoyed by visitors from other parts of the UK and Londoners. This section examines recent trends in international and domestic tourism, including visitor numbers, overnight stays and spending.
2025 data is not provided below as methodological changes mean it is not currently comparable with the historic timeseries. An update will be provided when these methodological inconsistencies have been addressed.
Tourism in London continued to strengthen between 2022 and 2024 following the shock to the sector from the pandemic, with total visits rising from 31.7 million to just over 36 million. Both domestic and international demand proved to be resilient, reflecting the city’s enduring appeal.
International arrivals increased from 16.1 million to 20.9 million over this period. Annual domestic visits remained relatively steady at approximately 15.7 million in 2022 and 15.1 million in 2024.
The total number of visitor nights spent in London increased from 140.7 million in 2022 to 153.8 million in 2024, driven by a strong recovery in international demand after the pandemic.
Domestic visitor nights hovered near 38 million each year, while international visitor nights rose from 102.8 million in 2022 to 116.6 million in 2024.
Spending trends broadly mirrored those for visitor numbers. Adjusted for inflation, domestic tourism expenditure was approximately £4.85 billion in 2022, it declined to £4.72 billion in 2023 before recovering to £5.45 billion in 2024. While the 2024 figure exceeded 2022 levels in real terms, the overall pattern suggests more stability than strong growth.
Meanwhile, international visitor spending rose consistently, from £14.1 billion in 2022 to £17.3 billion in 2024, highlighting the vital role of overseas visitors in London's tourism recovery. Combined, total tourism-related spending increased from £18.9 billion in 2022 to £22.8 billion in 2024.
Examining the number of international visits2 to the capital over a longer time series reveals pre-pandemic growth and a solid recovery since. Between 2015 and 2019, the number of international visits increased steadily from 19.4 million in 2015 to 21.7 million in 2019. This growth was disrupted sharply by the pandemic, with visits collapsing to just 3.7 million in 2020 and 2.7 million in 2021—representing declines of over 80% compared to 2019.
A gradual recovery followed: in 2022, visits rebounded to 16.1 million, rising further to 20.3 million in 2023. Figures for 2024 show continued recovery, with 20.9 million visits—approaching pre-pandemic levels but not yet surpassing them.
Similar patterns can be observed for international visitor expenditure, which dropped dramatically during the pandemic, from £15.7 billion in 2019 to £2.6 billion in 2020 (2019 prices), before recovering to £17.3 billion in 2024.
Engagement in culture
Culture is an essential part of London’s identity as a capital for creative arts and entertainment. It supports the city’s economy and helps to create vibrant local communities. This section examines in-person and digital engagement with the arts in London.
In 2024/25, 89.9% of London residents said they had engaged with the arts in person in the last 12 months. This is marginally higher than the national average (89.7%).
Engagement with the arts in London has increased in recent years. Moreover, the gap between London (which previously had lower engagement) and England has narrowed completely since the three previous years for which comparable data are available. Elsewhere in the country, the regions with the highest rate of engagement with the arts are the South-East (91.4%) and South-West (also 91.4%).
London residents are also more likely than people in England to engage with arts and culture online. In 2024/25, 36.2% of Londoners said they had engaged with the arts online in the last 12 months, compared to the England average of 34.8%. The only region with a higher digital engagement was the South-West (37.6%).