World's Largest Urban Economies
TOP 3 —
In 2022, Moscow ranked second worldwide in terms of the size of its urban economy, second only to New York.
$1.3 Trillion GDP
Moscow's GDP, measured by purchasing power parity, reached $1.3 trillion in 2022.
Stable Growth
The city continues to show strong, steady, and balanced economic growth, characteristic of developed urban economies.
Moscow’s economy experienced steady growth from 2017 to 2022, with average annual growth of 2.8%. Such sustained and balanced
development is due to the diversified structure of production and business that enables stable growth and effective adaptation
to external challenges. As a result, Moscow remains one of the world’s most flexible and competitive megacities.
In terms of economic growth, Shenzhen leads globally, with an average annual growth rate of 5.6% between 2017 and 2022.
Shanghai and Istanbul share second place at 4.7%, followed by Beijing at 4.6%. Moscow and Singapore rank next, each growing
at 2.8% per year. Chinese megacities continue to expand rapidly, benefitting from a strong manufacturing base complemented by
the growing ICT and financial sectors.
Tokyo was the only city in the TOP 10 to experience economic contraction during this period, with an average decline of
0.3% per year, primarily due to downturns in trade and transportation.
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience of urban economies, and Moscow emerged among the world’s top performers. In 2020,
its GDP declined by just 1%, followed by a strong recovery of 10.7% in 2021. Many major cities saw declines in tourism and logistics
due to pandemic-related lockdowns, with London hit particularly hard—its GDP shrank by 12.6% in 2020.
World’s TOP 10 cities by GDP in 2022 (US$ billion PPP)
Average annual growth rate 2017-2022
New York
USA
1 453
2%
Moscow
Russia
1 278
2.8%
Tokyo
Japan
1 229
-0.3%
Shanghai
China
1 178
4.7%
Beijing
China
1 097
4.6%
Istanbul
Turkey
991
4.7%
Los-Angeles
USA
913
1.8%
Shenzhenь
China
857
5.6%
London
UK
797
0.5%
Singapore
Singapore
762
2.8%
- Source: National statistics offices, The World Bank (ver. dated 13.11.2024), author’s calculations
Between 2017 and 2022, Chinese megacities saw a sharp decline in the hospitality industry, averaging a 20% drop, while London experienced
a 31% contraction in transportation sector. These downturns were caused by strict pandemic restrictions, border closures that disrupted
logistics, and a sluggish post-pandemic recovery.
Moscow also faced setbacks in 2020, with hospitality industry shrinking by 27% and transportation sector by 13%, but both
sectors managed to rebound successfully in the following years.
The economic structure of major global cities is largely shaped by regional and historical factors, yet in most megacities,
the financial sector dominates. In 2022, finance & insurance sector accounted for 26.7% of the New York's GDP, 19.7% in Beijing,
and 19.5% in London.
From 2017 to 2022, the financial sector contributed an average of 3.6 percentage points to GDP growth, while the overall GDP
of these cities expanded by 15.9% during this period. However, finance & insurance ranked only second in its contribution to GDP expansion.
From 2017 to 2022, the ICT sector emerged as the strongest driver of economic growth in many leading cities, contributing
an average 4.5 percentage points to GDP expansion. ICT development has a transformative impact on other industries, significantly
enhancing their efficiency. In Moscow, ICT had the most substantial influence on economic growth, accounting for 4.7 percentage
points of GDP increase, with the city's overall GDP rising 15% over this period. Manufacturing followed with 3.6 percentage points,
while scientific and technical activities contributed 2.4 percentage points.
The rapid expansion of ICT had an even greater impact on Chinese megacities. Between 2017 and 2022, ICT contributed 10.3 percentage
points to Beijing's GDP growth, 5.9 percentage points in Shenzhen, and 5.2 percentage points in Shanghai.
Finance & insurance sector holds the largest share of the economy
From 2017 to 2022, the ICT sector was the strongest engine of economic expansion
