The city ranked as the most attractive in South Africa

·24 Dec 2025

French magazine Jeune Afrique has ranked four South African cities among the top 30 most attractive destinations on the continent, with Cape Town taking the top spot back home.

The 2025 ranking marks the second year Jeune Afrique has been publishing its ranking, offering a “multidimensional analysis” of African cities.

The ranking combines residents’ perceptions as well as an objective assessment of economic attractiveness.

“This ranking has become an essential tool for understanding the major urban transformations shaping
the continent,” the group said,

For the second edition, Jeune Afrique strengthened its methodology, incorporating a third-party opinion survey of close to 8,000 people, along with data on foreign direct investment.

The analysis evaluates things like quality of life, infrastructure and housing, economic dynamism, and access to essential services.

The latest edition also included more cities, giving a greater scope of the African continent.

While South Africa ranked as the most attractive city in South Africa, the addition of new cities and more data inputs saw it pipped by other cities.

Cape Town ranked number one in the inaugural ranking, but slipped to fourth place in 2025, as the Egyptian capital, Cairo, topped the list.

Jeune Afrique noted that the Egyptian capital, which benefits from its geographic location, has seen an exceptional influx of foreign capital – particularly from the Gulf and China – and is supported by major urban development projects such as the New Administrative Capital.

This has made the city one of the most striking symbols of national urban transformation strategies.

“Despite persistent challenges related to density, mobility, and pollution, Cairo clearly leads in economic attractiveness and FDI, propelling it to first place,” the group said.

Also placing above Cape Town, Rwandan capital Kigali maintained its second position, continuing to earn praise for its remarkable quality of life and effective municipal governance.

“The Rwandan capital maintains its second-place position and reinforces its status as a model city on the continent, notably thanks to its clean urban environment, safety, and innovation strategy,” the magazine said.

Kenyan capital city, Nairobi, recorded the most notable rise on the podium, placing third.

Despite sociopolitical tensions in recent months, the city was supported by its ambition to position itself as a continental tech hub, as well as its major infrastructure and mobility projects and its attractiveness to investors.

South African cities lose their shine

As was the case in 2024, Morocco and South Africa demonstrated their strength, each placing four cities in the top 30.

Cape Town remains South Africa’s highest-ranked city, thanks to its infrastructure quality, economic dynamism, and quality of life.

In contrast, Johannesburg continues to struggle with security and energy challenges. This led to the city falling from third place in 2024 to seventh in 2025.

Despite the pony show around the G20 and attempts to sweep under the rug its persistent infrastructure issues and years of neglect under a fractured city council, Joburg remains under strain.

However, as the economic hub of South Africa and arguably all of Africa, the city remains a hotspot for capital and investment, with many multinationals still calling it home.

Pretoria made its debut as one of the new cities ranked in 2025, placing in ninth place overall.

Being in the top 10 shows the importance of South African executive capital and its ability to draw investment and attract businesses to its streets.

However, much like Joburg, years of fractured politics, mismanagement and severe financial constraints have put a damper on its attractiveness relative to other African destinations.

Rounding out South Africa’s showing is Durban, which also made a debut in 2025, ranking 25th overall.

Jeune Afrique noted a rising trend in “secondary cities” gaining prominence among investors and residents.

“Beyond South Africa, cities such as Mombasa or Alexandria demonstrate that metropolitan attractiveness in Africa is no longer limited to traditional economic or political capitals,” it said.

Demographic growth, the development of logistics corridors, and the emergence of new industrial zones are reshaping the map of urban power across the continent.

“By 2050, some of these cities could even rival the historic metropolises,” it said.