Incheon - Statistics & Facts
Incheon’s Competitiveness as a Global City: Statistics and Best Practices
Global City Incheon: Annual Statistics Publication
Global Recognition of Incheon: Global City Awards and Indexes
- UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda (NUA) - Urban Best Practices
Incheon’s innovative policies have been highlighted as urban best practices on UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda (NUA) platform. View Incheon’s best practices titled “Energy Transition Toward a Sustainable Future”:
(Source: https://www.urbanagendaplatform.org/best-practice)
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2025 Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities (Shanghai
Awards) — UN-Habitat and Shanghai Municipality
Incheon was selected as one of the award’s five winning cities — alongside Algiers (Algeria), Al Madinah (Saudi Arabia), Bogotá (Colombia), and Espoo (Finland) — during the World Cities Day ceremony on October 31, 2025, in Bogotá, Colombia. This recoginition makes Incheon the first Korean city to receive the award for “balancing environmental protection, economic vitality and social inclusion through a long-term, results-oriented and integrated urban development strategy.”
- https://unhabitat.org/news/04-nov-2025/five-cities-win-2025-shanghai-award-for-sustainable-urban-development
- https://shanghaiaward.org/awardceremony2025
(Source: Incheon City)
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2025 Global Cities Index (GCI) and Global Cities Outlook (GCO) —
Kearney
In 2025, Incheon was ranked for the first time on the Global Cities Index (84th) and the Global Cities Outlook (55th). This achievement highlights that Incheon has positioned itself as a city of global influence and has strong potential for future growth. To view the city’s GCI and GCO rankings by category, please visit:
(Source: Incheon City)
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2025 Smart Centres Index (SCI) — Z/Yen
In 2025, Incheon was featured for the first time in the Smart Centres Index, ranking 12th overall. During the online launch of SCI 12, Incheon—located west of Seoul—was highlighted as a city that “sees itself as a separate centre of expertise.”
- https://www.zyen.com/news/press-releases/press-release-smart-centres-index-12-zurich-leads-the-pack-in-smart-development-with-london-and-singapore-strong-contenders/
- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sci12+zyen
(Source: https://www.zyen.com/publications/public-reports/the-smart-centres-index-12/)
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SDG Innovation Award — UNIDO and the German Senate of Economy (2024
and 2025)
Incheon was honored with the SDG Innovation award in the Cities, Municipalities and Countries category for two consecutive years in recognition of its dedication to achieving carbon neutrality through the 2045 Carbon-Neutral Vision. In 2024, Incheon became the first Asian city to be included in Top 5, and in 2025, it was ranked among the Top 3 cities.
(Source: Incheon City)
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2025 Asian Townscape Award — UN-Habitat ROAP, Asian Habitat Society,
Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center, Asian Townscape Design Society, and
Korea Landscape Council
Incheon’s Gaehangjang Historic and Cultural Landscape Conservation Policy won the 2025 Asian Townscape Award, recognizing its efforts to preserve heritage and revitalize the Open Port area.
(Source: Incheon City)
