Top 20 Cities in Asia Pacific with Best Startup Ecosystem 2021

The Asia-Pacific region has a total of 161 startup ecosystems in the global top 1000, in a Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021, an annual report by Startup Blink, a startup ecosystem map and research center. The region is home to an incredibly diverse range of countries, with some home to more than one billion citizens (China and India), and some with high average incomes compared to most countries in the world (Such as Australia and Singapore).

This diversity is apparent in the top 10 country rankings, where both China (7th) and Singapore (10th) feature for the first time. Australia, while falling by 2 spots, still retains its position in the global top 10 at 9th. Singapore and China joining the global top 10 is major news in 2021, as it's the first time Asia is represented in this elite club. 

China’s huge jump to 7th is understandable: of the 40 cities representing China in the global top 1000, only one of these cities (Xiamen) decreased in ranking this year. Meanwhile, its two highest-ranking cities last year, Beijing and Shanghai have both moved further up the global top 10 list, now ranking 3rd and 7th respectively. 19 of 40 ranked Chinese cities are new entrants this year, demonstrating the growing diversity of the Chinese startup ecosystem. The region has also seen positive momentum from India moving up 3 spots and into the global top 20, supported by 43 cities in the global top 1000. The strongest of these cities is Bangalore, which increased 4 spots and into the global top 10. Taiwan also continues its upward momentum, gaining 4 spots to rank 26th globally after featuring for the first time in 2020.

The positive momentum in the Asia-Pacific region spans across all sub-regions: China (East Asia) and Singapore (Southeast Asia) both enter the global top 10, India (South Asia) reenters the global top 20, New Zealand (Australia and Oceania) jumps 14 positions to 33rd in the world, and Kazakhstan (Central Asia) jumps 10 spots to 76th.

Source: https://www.startupblink.com/startupecosystemreport.pdf