2009 Czech Development Centres according to a study by MasterCard

MasterCard, in cooperation with the University of Economics in Prague and the CZECH TOP 100 Association, published the results of a unique MasterCard project 2009 Czech Development Centres. The Czech public can therefore compare all regions and selected cities of the Czech Republic in terms of socio-economic level and, for the first time this year, in investment attractiveness, one of the principal factors of regional competitiveness.

The first place was taken by Prague, with 88.9 index points; it was followed by Central Bohemia (52.0 points). South Moravia placed closely third (50.7). The ranking was closed by the Moravian-Silesian region (40.2), Zlín (39.8), Karlovy Vary (37.1) and Ústí nad Labem (35.5).

Prague, with its value of 95.2 index points, leads the ranking of the most developed cities in the Czech Republic in terms of socio-economic development. Brno, which placed second, lags behind by more than 42%. Prague also ranked first in terms of attractiveness for investors (92.6%). In the monitored indicators, Brno confirms its position of the second most important socio-economic centre in the country (52.6%). In the ranking of cities with the highest investment attractiveness, it took the third position (58.1%).

The city of Mladá Boleslav proved to be a major driving force for the economic development of Central Bohemia. As regards attractiveness for investments, the city placed second, right behind Prague, with 65.6%. Even though Mladá Boleslav is much smaller than Prague, it only lags behind Prague by a mere 27% in this respect. Mladá Boleslav outperformed cities such as Brno, Plzeň, Ostrava and others.

You can see the complete study results at www.centrarozvoje.cz.