Tokyo (SCCIJ)—Zug has again been named the most attractive micro-city in Europe, while Zurich claimed second place among mid-sized cities. The rankings for 2025 by the investment portal fDi Intelligence also include the cities of Geneva, Lugano, and Basel in the top ten.
Attractive Swiss cities
Several Swiss cities belong to the leading “European Cities and Regions of the Future 2025“. With these rankings, fDi Intelligence – the British investment portal owned by the “Financial Times” – evaluates the most attractive locations across Europe for direct investments. In this context, the portal analyzed 330 cities and 141 regions based on key factors of relevance to expanding companies: economic potential, human capital and lifestyle, cost-effectiveness, connectivity, and business friendliness.
Zug is the best micro-city
The Swiss town of Zug retained its crown in the ranking of mid-sized cities with an immediate population below 100,000. The town offers foreign investors the lowest tax rate in Switzerland, significantly contributing to its success in attracting foreign investment across various sectors. From January 2020 to November 2024, fDi Markets data recorded 43 greenfield FDI (foreign direct investment) projects in the city, with the business services sector attracting the lion’s share of these projects and capital investment.
Basel has the best FDI strategy
Basel, Switzerland’s third-largest city, won this year’s Small Cities category for FDI Strategy. Basel Area Business & Innovation impressed judges with its investment promotion strategy focused on life sciences, specifically pharma, biotech, health tech, and MedTech. Basel has attracted many globally renowned companies, such as Moderna and BeiGene. Also, global foundations such as the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering moved to the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area.
Zurich is the runner-up mid-sized city
Switzerland’s financial center, Zurich, retained its runner-up position in this year’s ranking for mid-sized cities. Financial services were among the top recipients of FDI in the city between January 2020 and November 2024, with 44 projects recorded. Investment banking received the lion’s share of this investment within the financial service sector, with capital commitments worth 271 million dollars. The city stood out as the top performer in the Economic Potential subcategory, and it made the top 10 also for Human Capital and Lifestyle, Connectivity and Business Friendliness.
Geneva is the third-best small city
Geneva kept its third overall ranking among European small cities and held onto its third-place finish in the Economic Potential subcategory. Switzerland’s second-most populous city is a major international diplomacy center, home to the UN’s European headquarters and the Red Cross. The city’s share of financial services FDI jumped considerably in 2024, up 76% from the previous year.
Text: SCCIJ based on fDi Intelligence
