Why is Istanbul one of the anchor megacities in Europe?

Based on a survey conducted by a reputable group, Istanbul is listed among the four anchor megacities of Europe. The other three cities included in the same list are London, Paris and Moscow.

The mega town is reported to deserve this title based on following criteria, as announced by the same group;

– investment volumes, commercial real estate stock
– economic output, population, air connectivity and corporate presence (socioeconomic and business indicators)

On the other hand, Istanbul is also listed among the top 10 growing cities according to the same report with other nine cities to include Cairo, Jakarta, Jeddah, Lagos, Madrid, Milan, Mumbai, Tehran and Riyadh.

Then again it is reported that the cities which make up the Global300 (as it is called) are the world’s most powerful, productive and connected.

The citizens in those cities total up to 1.3 billion and account for nearly 40 percent of global economic activity in other words more than the total of Europe and North America.

88 percent of the headquarters of the world’s 2,000 largest listed companies are located in those cities and they are reported to generate 40 percent of the world’s finance and business employment.

Moreover more than 80 percent of the world’s air passengers pass through the airports located in same cities., according to the report. According to the reports the most striking finding is that the bulk of commercial real estate market activity, amounts to nearly three-quarters of global direct commercial real estate investment and over 90 percent of the world’s prime office stock.

SOURCE: WEB (Edited)