The Catalan capital has ranked third in the Startup Heatmap Europe table for the fifth consecutive year. According to the study, 1 out of 5 survey respondents would choose Barcelona as a city where they would set up a new company.

Barcelona has once more been voted as the third most popular city in Europe for entrepreneurs when establishing a start-up company. This has been confirmed by the consultancy firm DEEP Ecosystems’ Startup Heatmap Europe, which publishes an annual ranking of Europe’s top 50 start-up hubs. Barcelona finds itself ahead of cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon in the ranking, finishing on the podium alongside London and Berlin.

The study is the result of a survey asking entrepreneurs from all regions of Europe to choose the European cities in which they would most like to start a business. 17% of the survey respondents chose Barcelona, consolidating its position as the most popular southern European start-up hub for the fifth year running.

Two thirds of the founders are non-Spanish

One of the most interesting conclusions that can be drawn from the report is that 65% of the people founding companies in Barcelona were born outside of Spain. This makes Barcelona the European city with the seventh-highest number of international founders, highlighting its strong global appeal.

According to the report, what founders value most about Barcelona is its value for money, its welcoming ecosystem and access to talent. In fact, the Catalan capital has received a Trust Score of 98%. The study also revealed that the city’s 2,000 start-ups raised a total of €1.7 billion during 2022.

Finally, we must make a special mention to the six inspiring Barcelona unicorns: Globo, Wallbox, TravelPerk, Letgo, Edreams and Adevinta. The survey also highlights the work of the city’s most popular start-up accelerators such as Wayra, CRAASH and SeedRocket.