The 2024 Smart City Index by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has ranked Cairo as the smartest city in Africa. This index, a collaboration between the IMD World Competitiveness Center's Smart City Observatory and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), assesses 142 global cities using data analysis and citizen surveys.
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What is a Smart City?
The IMD defines a smart city as "an urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanization for its citizens." The index highlights how well cities leverage technology and infrastructure to improve residents' quality of life.
Here's the IMD's 2024 ranking for Africa's smartest cities:
- Cairo, Egypt (ranked 114th globally)
- Algiers, Algeria (ranked 124th globally)
- Rabat, Morocco (ranked 126th globally)
- Cape Town, South Africa (ranked 129th globally)
- Nairobi, Kenya (ranked 131st globally)
- Abuja, Nigeria (ranked 135th globally)
- Lagos, Nigeria (ranked 136th globally)
- Tunis, Tunisia (ranked 137th globally)
- Accra, Ghana (ranked 138th globally)
- Sana'a, Yemen (ranked 141st globally)
