Copenhagen has been named the most livable city in the world, reclaiming this title from Vienna after three years. This ranking comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) latest list of the most livable cities, which was released on Tuesday.
The 2025 index evaluated 173 cities across five main criteria: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Copenhagen achieved a perfect score of 100 in stability, education, and infrastructure, reinforcing the prevalence of Western European cities at the top of the rankings. Zurich and Geneva, along with Vienna, also made the top five.
Three Australian cities—Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide—joined the top ten alongside Auckland from New Zealand. Vancouver was the only city in North America to make the list, coming in at 10th place.
Interestingly, overall livability across the globe stayed consistent over the past year, with an average city score of 76.1 out of 100.
Despite a decline in stability scores due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, the report suggested that improvements in healthcare, education, and infrastructure helped balance those losses.
Where does our city rank?
Honolulu was the highest-ranked U.S. city, landing at 23rd place, with Atlanta at 29th.
Interestingly, smaller cities tend to fare better in this index, often attributed to lower crime rates and fewer terrorism threats. For instance, New York City ranked 69th.
Miami, Oregon, and Portland improved their positions, reaching 44th place—up three spots since last year. Similarly, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Indianapolis also climbed three places, securing 50th position.
The drop in healthcare scores from four Canadian cities in the index negatively impacted North America’s overall average compared to the previous year.
Researchers mentioned that the region is vulnerable to further downgrades in future rankings, particularly as budget cuts in education and healthcare become a concern under the current U.S. administration.
At the other end, Damascus in Syria ranked among the least livable cities, scoring poorly on stability and healthcare. Other cities like Tripoli in Libya, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Karachi in Pakistan, and Algiers in Algeria also occupied the bottom five spots.
Here are the top ten most livable cities for 2025:
10-Vancouver, Canada
- Index: 95.8
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 95.8
- Culture and Environment: 97.2
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 92.9
9-Adelaide, Australia
- Index: 95.9
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 91.4
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
7-New Zealand, Auckland (tie)
- Index: 96.0
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 95.8
- Culture and Environment: 97.9
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 92.9
7-Osaka, Japan (Tie)
- Index: 96.0
- Stability: 100.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 86.8
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
6-Sydney, Australia
- Index: 96.6
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 94.4
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
5-Geneva, Switzerland
- Index: 96.8
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 94.9
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
4-Melbourne, Australia
- Index: 97.0
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 95.8
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
2-Zurich, Switzerland (ties)
- Index: 97.1
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 96.3
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 96.4
2-Vienna, Austria (ties)
- Index: 97.1
- Stability: 95.0
- Healthcare: 100.0
- Culture and Environment: 93.5
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 100.0
1-Copenhagen, Denmark
- Index: 98.0
- Stability: 100.0
- Healthcare: 95.8
- Culture and Environment: 95.4
- Education: 100.0
- Infrastructure: 100.0
