Compared to the 2021 ranking, Monterrey rose three positionsand the Valley of Mexico fell four places, after reviewing 69 variables in the areas of Law, Inclusion, Political System, Government, Economy, world-class precursor sectors and Making the most of international relations.
The Valley of Mexico reports strengths: the attraction for Foreign Direct Investment, the flow of passengers abroad, the percentage of women who study, new vertical housing, economic diversification, as well as the use of financial services.
Its weaknesses are in the size of the mortgage market, in the budget information barometer, attacks on journalists, solid waste management and security.
In general, “cities made progress in their activities related to tourism, the use of financial services increased and the number of active economic sectors in each city also increased,” said Valeria Moy, general director of IMCO during the presentation of the Index.
Among the setbacks, it is observed that the crime rate intensified, while per capita water consumption also grew, a resource that will be crucial to use in a sustainable manner, since the scarcity is already beginning to become evident.
Adults in Monterrey and the Valley of Mexico have around 3 credit and debit cards, while in San Francisco del Rincón and Cuautla only one, which speaks of the penetration of the formal financial system in the economic activity of urban areas.
The Valley of Mexico, Monterrey and Guadalajara received almost 4 out of every 10 dollars of foreign direct investment from all the cities evaluated.
The ranking evaluated 66 cities, dividing them into categories, by number of inhabitants: more than one million; from 500,000 to one million inhabitants where Acapulco and Villahermosa are the most competitive; from 250,000 to 500,000 in which Monclova and Campeche are the most competitive, and from less than 250,000 where Tecomán stands out in first place.
The only cities that had a growth reflected in the GDP of their entity were Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada. In the Valley of Mexico, Monterrey and Guadalajara there are 43% more economic sectors present than in the rest of the cities evaluated, which makes them the cities with the greatest economic diversity.
Of the cities examined, Querétaro has the largest mortgage market since it granted 54 loans for every 1,000 adults, six loans more than the previous edition.