House prices, internet speeds drag Brisbane down global rankings

A new Global Cities Index has ranked Brisbane third in Australia for economics, human capital, and quality of life.

Across five categories, Oxford Economics – in its first attempt to assess “the strengths and weaknesses of the largest 1000 cities across the world” – placed Melbourne 9th, Sydney 16th, Perth 23rd, and Brisbane 27th.

The analysts noted the Queensland capital had a strong economy, thanks partly to mining, and said the education, tourism and technology sectors were “continuously growing in strength”.

“Brisbane’s economic dynamism also means the city is a desirable location for immigration, attracting a large foreign-born population,” the analysts wrote amid a domestic debate over migration levels.

“As such, the city’s continued capacity to attract talent, from the rest of Australia and abroad, means Brisbane ranks well in terms of population growth, and only just falls short of the top 100 cities for that metric.

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“Another one of Brisbane’s strengths is its well-educated and young workforce; in fact, it boasts one of the youngest populations out of Australia’s major cities.”

Across the five categories, Brisbane was rated third in Australia for economics (Melbourne was first), human capital (Sydney was first), and quality of life (Canberra was first), and fourth for the environment (Melbourne was first).

In assessing quality of life, the analysts marked Brisbane down for internet speeds – Oxford Economics found all Australian cities were suffering from “long-term underinvestment and mismanagement” – as well as the cost of housing.