Britain is a "second-rate power" which has been in decline for a century – yet London remains¹ the most influential² city in the world.

Those are the startling findings of a list of the globe's most "necessary" cities, compiled by the business magazine Forbes.

London and New York topped the global list of the world's most influential cities, although largely thanks to history, tradition and "inertia³" – they are the most dominant⁴ principally because they always have been.

The British capital clinched⁵ top spot in part thanks to its position as a global transport hub with a high number of company headquarters, loose regulatory environment and judicial⁶ and political systems which have proved a model for the rest of the world.

But Forbes was somewhat damning in its praise, adding that London's status as the world's most influential city was largely a hangover from its past glories.

"Inertia and smart use of it is a key theme that emerged in our evaluation⁷ of the top global cities," it said.

No city better exemplifies this than London, which after more than a century of imperial decline still ranks No. 1 in our survey.

"The United Kingdom may now be a second-rate power, but the City's unparalleled legacy⁸ as a global financial capital still underpins⁹ its pre-eminence." Forbes based its city rankings on eight factors, including the level of foreign direct investment, the number of corporate¹⁰ headquarters, the amount of business types it dominates, ease of air travel to other global cities, the strength of financial services, technology and media power, and racial diversity.

Using those factors, Forbes found London and New York held a "hegemony" over the rest of the world, standing¹¹ far ahead of their nearest rivals, Paris and Tokyo.

Rising stars were named as Singapore, currently in fifth place, Dubai in seventh and San Francisco, which is in equal 10th.

Cities which could leap into the top 10 in future include Soul, currently number 16, Abu Dhabi, now in 20th, and Sao Paulo in 23rd.

Despite being among the world's most populous¹² cities, in countries which are seen as being on the cusp of an economic breakthrough, cities elsewhere in the developing world are considered lacking in influence.

Forbes said: "The Indian megacities Delhi and Mumbai rank in the low 30s along with Johannesburg in South Africa.

"Until these areas can develop adequate infrastructure¹³ - from roads, transit¹⁴ and bridges to relatively¹⁵ non-corrupt judicial systems - none can be expected to crack the top 10, or even 20, for at least a decade.

"For the time being, the future of the global city belongs not to the biggest or fastest growing but the most efficient and savvy¹⁶, and those with a strong historical pedigree. This raises the bar for all cities that wish to break into this elite¹⁷ club."

The world's top 10 most influential cities:

1. London

A history and tradition which cannot be rivalled have left London with all the economic benefits of the City of London, and a language, judiciary and legal system which are models for the rest of the world.

The super-rich have long been comfortable there, and its cultural, media and advertising¹⁸ sectors²⁰ are dominant.

Spared the regulation and red tape which ties up business in the US and Europe, London's time zones are manageable for business travellers commuting²¹ east or west and it has the second best global air connections in the world after Dubai.

London has the most start-up Internet firms in Europe and is host to 68 of the world's top 2,000 companies.

2. New York

Hard on the heels of London, New York only narrowly missed out to its British rival in the Forbes list. The Big Apple is home to most of the world's top investment banks and hedge funds. Its stock market trade levels are 10 times that of London and four times that of Tokyo. It is a global leader in media, advertising and the music industry and dominates in the realms of fashion and luxury. Visitors spend more money in New York than any city in the world thanks, Forbes suggests, to its iconic landmarks²².

3. Paris

A distant third, Paris claims its place only thanks to its domination of the still-important French market with virtually all of the country's home-grown companies basing their headquarters there.

4. Singapore

The most influential city in Asia, Singapore has a population of just five million but an infrastructure which is the envy of the world. With a colonial legacy of British governance and law, it has been named as the best place in the world to do business. As a result, it has the highest level of foreign direct investment and is the top location for European companies with an Asia-Pacific HQ.

5. Tokyo

Despite being the world's largest city in terms of gross domestic product, Tokyo has fallen behind Singapore as Asia's most influential, according to Forbes. Like Paris, the magazine said, it gains most of its ranking due to its domination of its own domestic markets. But it will continue to suffer thanks to an ageing population and declining birth rate, a lack of ethnic²³ diversity and stiff competition from regional rivals.

6. Hong Kong

More free than the rest of China, Hong Kong is the largest financial centre in Asia and the third largest in the world. Most of the world's banks, asset managers and insurance companies have Asia-Pacific headquarters there.

7. Dubai

Dubai has put itself the centre of the world thanks to an airport which boasts the largest terminal on the globe which makes it the most well-connected city in terms of air travel.

Coupled with an environment described by Forbes as "business-friendly," it is the destination of choice for companies seeking a Middle East presence.

It is also the most racially-diverse city on the list, with 83 per cent of residents having been born elsewhere.

8. Beijing

As the capital of the emerging economic superpower that is China, Beijing is growing importance all the time. As well as hosting the HQs of most of China's state-owned companies Forbes said it is "home to the country's elite educational institutions and its most innovative²⁴ companies."

= Sydney

Australia's largest city is dominant in a country that has seen a resources-fuelled boom in the last two decades.

10. San Francisco Bay Area

Has leapt from relatively obscurity to become hugely "necessary" thanks largely to its domination of the tech field. Companies outside the sector¹⁹ are now also seeing San Fran as the place to be, moving their businesses there.

= Los Angeles

No longer the force it was when it sought to rival New York as America's most important city, LA's position is just about secured thanks to Hollywood and its domination of the entertainment industry. It remains the second-largest city in the US, but it is losing influence in business terms, with several major companies departing in recent years, and could soon trail its neighbour San Francisco .

= Toronto

Gains its position as the economic capital of the rich and stable country that is Canada. Nearly half of its population is foreign born.

据英国《每日电讯报》报道，尽管大英帝国经过一个世纪的衰落，已沦为一个“二流强国”，但伦敦仍是全球最具影响力的城市。

这些全球最“显要”城市排名结果令人十分震惊，它源自于商业杂志《福布斯》。

伦敦和纽约之所以能够在全球最具影响力城市榜单遥遥领先，虽然在很大程度上归功于历史、传统和“惯性”的作用——但主要原因是他们一直以来都处于领先地位。

英国首都伦敦榜单独占鳌头，一部分原因功归于其全球交通枢纽的地位，这里有大量的企业总部、宽松的监管环境以及完善的司法政治体系，这些都显示了其为世界树立的典范。

然而，《福布斯》在其赞美之辞中却有一些不满，称伦敦能居全球最具影响力城市之首，主要因为延续着过往辉煌。

福布斯》指出：“传统惯性以及如何巧用惯性是我们此次评选考虑的关键因素。”

“没有其它城市可以比伦敦更好的证明这一点。尽管经过一个世纪多的帝国衰落，但调查显示，伦敦仍具有无以匹敌的影响力。”

“现在的英国也许已沦为一个二流强国，但伦敦仍是全球金融中心，这一无与伦比的遗产仍彰显着其显赫地位。”《福布斯》城市排行评选主要基于八个因素：吸引外国直接投资数量、企业总部数量、主要企业类型数量、国际航运便捷程度、金融服务实力、技术和媒体权威以及种族多元化程度。

根据这些因素，《福布斯》发现伦敦和纽约在全球其它城市中“鹤立鸡群”，与最接近它们的巴黎和东京相比，遥遥领先。

后起之秀新加坡目前排名第五，迪拜排名第七，旧金山排名第十。

未来有望跻身前十名的城市包括，目前排名第十六的首尔（Seoul，韩国首都），排名二十的阿布扎比（Abu Dhabi，阿拉伯联合酋长国首都），以及排名第23的圣保罗（Sao Paulo，巴西最大城市）。

在发展中国家中，尽管有些城市人口很稠密，经济发展也取得了突破，但仍被认为缺乏影响力。

福布斯》称：“印度的大都市德里（Delhi）和孟买（Mumbai）只能排名三十多，与南非的约翰内斯堡（Johannesburg）处于同一等级。”

“直到这些地区建立足够完善的基础设施——从道路、交通、桥梁到廉洁的司法体系——否则至少十年内，他们无法跻身前十名或前二十名。

“从目前来看，国际性大都市的未来属于那些最有效率、最有见识并拥有深远历史背景的城市，而不是那些规模最大或发展最快的城市。这抬高了众多城市期望加入该‘精英俱乐部’的门槛。”

全球十大最具影响力的城市：

1．伦敦（London）

以英语为母语的伦敦，拥有悠久的历史和传统，并是国际性金融中心，丰厚的经济效益也助其荣登榜首。此外，完善的司法和法律体系也为世界其它地区树立了典范。

作为全球富豪首选居住地，伦敦占据着世界文化、媒体、广告行业的主导地位。

撇开在美国和欧洲的商业法规及繁文缛节，伦敦拥有时区上的优势，方便全国各地商务旅客的来来往往。此外，伦敦的航空联络体系十分完善，全球排名第二，仅次于迪拜。

在欧洲大量的高科技初创互联网公司属于伦敦。全球前2000强企业中，有68家公司总部设在伦敦。

2．纽约（New York）

福布斯》榜单上，美国纽约紧跟伦敦之后，惜败于对手伦敦屈居第二。大苹果城（The Big Apple，纽约的别称）是世界顶级投资银行和对冲基金之乡。纽约股票市场贸易是伦敦的十倍，东京的四倍。纽约的媒体、广告和音乐产业在全球遥遥领先，同时，纽约还是世界重要的时尚和奢侈品之都。《福布斯》指出，由于纽约拥有众多标志性建筑物，游客在纽约的消费超过世界上其它任何城市。

3．巴黎（Paris）

巴黎在排行榜上名列第三，但与伦敦、纽约差距较大。巴黎声称之所以能位居第三，主要由于法国国内市场仍发挥着重要的作用，且几乎所有法国国内知名企业总部都设于巴黎。

4．新加坡（Singapore）

新加坡是亚洲最具影响力的城市。虽然新加坡的人口只有500万，但这里的基础设施让全世界为之羡慕。收益于英国殖民时期遗留下来的统治方式和法律法规，被称为全球最佳经商之地。因此，新加坡是外国直接投资水平最高的地区，并且是欧洲公司建立亚太地区总部的首选之地。

5．东京（Tokyo）

据《福布斯》称，尽管东京是全球国内生产总值（GDP）最大的城市，但却落居新加坡之后，未能成为亚洲最具影响力的城市。《福布斯》还称，东京与巴黎相似，其排名第五主要依赖于自身国内市场的发展。然而，由于受到人口的老龄化、出生率不断下降、民族多样性的缺乏以及区域竞争对手的激烈竞争等因素的制约，东京的发展将面临挑战。

6．香港（Hong Kong）

香港比中国其它地区更自由，也是亚洲最大金融中心，仅次于伦敦和纽约，全球排名第三位。全球大多数的世界银行、资产管理公司和保险公司都把他们的亚太地区总部设在香港。

7．迪拜（Dubai）

迪拜之所以能将自己推向世界中心，功归于拥有全球最大航站楼的迪拜国际机场，这也使它成为全球航空旅行的最佳枢纽城市。

福布斯》表示，迪拜拥有优良的企业发展环境，因此，这里也是企业在中东地区寻求举足轻重地位的首选之地。

此外，迪拜还是榜单中种族最复杂的城市，83%的迪拜居民都出生在国外。

8．北京

作为新兴经济超级大国中国的首都，北京的地位也越来越重要。由于许多中国国有企业总部坐落于此，《福布斯》把北京称为“国家人才教育机构和最具创新力企业之乡”。

8．悉尼（Sydney）（并列第八）

悉尼作为澳大利亚最大的城市，在全国处于主导地位。过去的二十年里，悉尼的资源能源行业迅速发展。

10．旧金山港湾区（San Francisco Bay Area）

从默默无闻一跃成为极其“显要”城市，这很大程度上要归功于其科技领域的主导地位。各大企业将旧金山视为企业外部部门最佳之地，将业务移于此地扩展。

10. 洛杉矶（Los Angeles）

洛杉矶曾经与纽约竞选美国最重要的城市。它显著的影响力主要得益于好莱坞和娱乐产业中心地位。洛杉矶虽然仍是美国第二大城市，但由于近几年几大企业的撤离，其商业方面的影响力正在减弱，或将很快落后于其近邻旧金山。

10. 多伦多（Toronto）

多伦多是繁荣稳定的加拿大最大的城市，以雄厚的经济资本赢得其名。这里近一半人口为海外出生。