Sofia Ranks 1st in Smart City Development in the Emerging Europe ‘Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020’

Sofia ranks 1st in the Smart City Development category and 7th in the overall ranking of Emerging Europe for the best cities for doing business in Central and Eastern Europe – Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020. Sofia is also in the Top 10 in the Quality of Life category, sharing the 5th place with Gdynia, Poland, Bratislava, and Slovakia. For the ranking, Emerging Europe investigated 75 cities in the region of developing Europe – capitals and cities with over 200,000 inhabitants.

The Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020 is part of the Emerging Europe Awards 2020 – the third edition of a program that presents the best of Europe’s developing region and honors the achievements of individuals, public and private organizations, projects, and initiatives.

Budapest has been named the most business-friendly city. The Hungarian capital also tops two of the eight categories taken into account in the ranking – Brand, and Local Authority Support.  Sofia, along with Tallinn, is the winner in the category Smart City Development. Tbilisi leads in Economic Potential, Łódź in Business Climate, Bucharest in Pool of Talent, Warsaw in Infrastructure and Connectivity, and Prague in Quality of Life. Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw lead the overall ranks, where Sofia ranks 7th.

Due to the restrictive measures around Covid-19, this year, the ranking was presented online. In its publication, Emerging Europe quoted the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova on the occasion of Sofia’s recognition as one of the two leading cities in the category Smart City Development.

“Our efforts are focused on implementing innovative solutions in city governance and urban development,” she says. “Sofia is changing and the most important thing is that more and more citizens are taking part in this change. Sofia’s most valuable asset is the city’s highly educated workforce that is demanding a constantly improving city environment. We are working with a consistent focus on one strategic priority – the improvement of the quality of life of its citizens.”