Toronto may not be a Perfect 10 the way that Bo Derek was back in the day, but according to Forbes Toronto is number 10 on the list of the “World’s Most Economically Powerful Cities”. That’s pretty impressive! This is the Forbes top 10 list.

1. London
2. Hong Kong
3. New York
4. Tokyo
5. Chicago
6. Seoul
7. Paris
8. Los Angeles
9. Shanghai
10. Toronto

The Forbes article used data that was compiled from very reliable sources - PricewaterhouseCoopers, MasterCard, and UBS, a leading financial firm. Based on the data provided by these 3 companies cities around the world were rated on:
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Inflation
• Financial flow
• Growth
• Quality of life
• Legal and political framework
• Economic stability
• Ease of doing business
• Convenience as a business centre
• Information flow
• Living expenses related to earnings

This is what Forbes had to say about Toronto:
GDP (2005): $209 billion
GDP (2020): $327 billion
Growth rate: 3%
MasterCard ranking: 13
Population (2007): 5,213,000
Purchasing power (NYC=100): 113.8%
Toronto only narrowly edged out Madrid, Spain; Philadelphia and Mexico City, Mexico, to hang on at No. 10. Toronto is still the economic heart of one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and it’s projected to keep humming through 2020. Along with London, Toronto is the fastest growing G7 financial center.

According to Forbes these criteria establish whether or not it is worthwhile to establish yourself in a city. Although most of us who live in Toronto would be loathe to leave under any circumstances, it’s nice to know that the experts have predicted an excellent economic future for Toronto.