Dublin ranked 20th most reputable city in the world

Dublin has risen two places to 20th in a global list of cities that have the best and worst reputations.

The latest City Reptrak index gave Dublin its highest ranking to date, placing it ahead of cities like London (22nd), Paris (23rd), Berlin (29th) and Brussels (35th), but behind Edinburgh (6th), Rome (8th), Barcelona (14th), Madrid (15th) and Frankfurt (16th).

The study noted a strong link between the city’s reputation and people’s willingness to visit, work, live and invest there, and suggested that an enhanced reputation could only add to its attractiveness for businesses looking to relocate in the wake of Brexit.

The IDA welcomed Dublin’s improved reputational ranking in what it described as a highly competitive international marketplace.

The City Reptrak index is compiled by the Reputations Agency and Reputation Institute, and is based on a survey of 20,600 people in the G8 countries.

It ranks cities according to a range of metrics from aesthetic quality and environment to technology and financial stability.

The latest index placed Sydney, Vienna and Zurich as the top three city destinations, while Cairo, Rio de Janeiro and Moscow yielded the lowest ratings.

Beautiful city

Dublin’s highest score (82 out of 100 ) was for the attribute “beautiful city”. The city also improved it rankings for effective government (72.51); advanced economy (70.37); favourable business environment (72.01); has well-developed political and legal infrastructure (71.65); adequate infrastructure of transport, communications and public infrastructure (74.71); financially stable and potential for future growth (70.95); and technologically advanced (70.96).

Niall Quinn, head of corporate and financial PR at the Reputations Agency, said: "It is encouraging that Ireland's capital city has seen both an improvement in its reputational score and ranking among the top international cities."

Martin Shanahan, chief executive of IDA Ireland, added: "Rankings matter in the FDI business. IDA Ireland continues to market Ireland as an attractive location for foreign direct investment."