The Russian capital moved up three positions and was ranked 44th in the latest Smart Centres Index by Z / Yen. Sydney, Bangkok, Melbourne, Milan were placed next to Moscow in the rating, which assesses the approach of megalopolises to innovation and technology implementation. New York, London and Singapore became leaders of the ranking. 

As explained by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations Vladimir Efimov, the city is actively introducing Smart City formats into life by integrating Internet technologies. Now the Russian capital is developing a "smart transport" system, accessible Internet, more than 370 city services and services are operating online. In terms of digitalisation and technology development, Moscow successfully competes with the world's leading megacities in various international rankings, Efimov said.

Earlier, Moscow's merits in these areas were assessed in the smart cities of the future ranking by  fDi, the Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI) and the Smart city index prepared by the Swiss business school IMD. The Z / Yen Smart Centers Index was released for the second time in December 2020. 131 cities were analysed, of which 51 were included in the final study, with each receiving at least 10 assessments from experts. The index was calculated on the basis of 126 statistical and index indicators, as well as expert assessments, which were then combined into three categories: innovation support, in which Moscow ranks 45th, development intensity - 42nd place, innovation diffusion - 40th place, Kirill Purtov, Head of the Department for Economic Policy and City Development, the Minister of the Moscow Government added. 

Smart Centres Index Ranking

According to the mos.ru portal, in 2020 Moscow received several awards in the field of digital development. In particular, the Moscow transport complex received the main award of the Transport Ticketing Global Awards for the best smart ticketing system, Moscow's digital projects to fight the COVID-19 pandemic were awarded the Runet Prize.

Original (in Russian)