In addition to Vienna, which topped the poll, three other European cities made the top 10 in a year weighed down by global instability and the rising cost of living.
advertisementThere are many superlative adjectives that can be used to describe Vienna: beautiful, historic, picturesque, cultured, etc. And now we can add one more to that list: consistent.
The Austrian capital has been named the world’s most liveable city for the third year in a row, out of 173 cities included in The Economist’s annual Global Liveability Index.
The city’s hold on to the top spot appears unshakable, with 2024 marking the ninth time in the past 11 index reports that the city has held the top spot.
Vienna didn’t win outright this year, receiving perfect scores in four out of five categories, but its continued dominance suggests that its citizens have written the book on how to live well.
While many of this year’s top 10 are largely unchanged from 2023, one or two cities have seen a change in fortunes, moving up or down the rankings.
A notable change is the dominance of cities, particularly those from Western Europe, taking the top three spots and occupying the top four places in total.
How are the world rankings determined?
Liveability is a subjective concept, and of course The Economist’s Global Liveability Index is not absolute, but the score is determined by a set of benchmarks.
Each city’s overall ranking is determined by averaging its scores out of 100 in five categories: stability, culture and environment, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
The five broad categories contain 30 pieces of data and analysis that help determine the score for each category.
For example, stability considers the threat of terrorism, incidence of social unrest and crime levels, health and education look at the quality and availability of services, while infrastructure assesses public transportation, roads, transit, housing and utilities.
This year the average score rose to 76.1 out of 100 thanks to recorded improvements in areas such as education and healthcare, but stability was the only notable area where scores fell sharply.
In addition to protests in Europe over immigration and agriculture, and civil unrest and war in other parts of the world, the high cost of living crisis continues to worsen.
Inflation is cited as a key cause of the housing crisis in many of the cities on the list, including Australia and Canada, where rental availability is low and property costs are rising.
Eastern Europe catching up with Western Europe
Reflecting Vienna’s success in The Economist’s index, Western Europe maintained its position as the world’s most liveable region, coming in first in four out of five categories.
This year’s ranking includes 30 Western European cities, with a combined average score of 92 out of a possible 100.
advertisementBut the survey noted that the region’s overall score had fallen from last year due to rising instability in countries such as Germany and Ireland, which have been rocked by turbulent protests.
The biggest improvement of all regions was seen in Eastern Europe, which ranked fourth for its higher education and health scores.
Cities that saw the biggest changes in the rankings included Budapest, which rose seven places to 32nd with a score of 92.
Belgrade and Bucharest (both 74.5) rose six and five places respectively to tie for 94th place.
advertisementThe biggest fallers are in Western Europe, with eight cities dropping in the rankings, with Dublin falling seven places to 39th.
German cities overall saw the biggest drops in the rankings, with Munich dropping six places to 27th, putting it on the same rank as Hamburg, which dropped five places.
Stuttgart, Berlin and Düsseldorf have all dropped in the rankings, as have Brussels and Barcelona.
Tel Aviv fell the most, dropping 20 places from 92nd to 112th as the Gaza war lowered its stability score and it also took hits in the culture, environment and infrastructure categories.
advertisementSo, who took home the top 10 spots?
9. Auckland, New Zealand
Oakland recorded the second-biggest improvement in 2023, climbing 25 places to enter the top 10. It managed to maintain its position in 2024 with consistently high scores in all five categories, including a perfect 100 in Education.
9. Osaka, Japan
The ranking remains unchanged, with Osaka the only Japanese city, and the only Asian city, in the top 10. It received the lowest score of 86.8 for culture and environment among the top 10 cities, but received a perfect score of 100 for stability, healthcare and education.
7. Vancouver, Canada
Toronto dropped out of the top 10 this year, while Vancouver retained its top spot, albeit dropping two places. As with other Canadian and Australian cities, housing is the main reason for its drop in the rankings this year.
advertisement7. Sydney, Australia
Europe’s top 10 cities will return to the rankings in 2024, but Sydney, along with Melbourne, has dropped three places to seventh this year due to a housing shortage.
5. Geneva, Switzerland
While other cities fell behind, Geneva, Switzerland, performed well by maintaining its standards, moving up from joint seventh place with Calgary, Canada, in 2023 to fifth place this year. Geneva dropped slightly in terms of cultural attractiveness, on par with Zurich, the only other Swiss city in the top ten.
5. Calgary, Canada
Calgary bucked the trend facing other Canadian cities in the top 10, climbing two spots in the rankings for 2024 and regaining some lost ground by reaching third place in 2022. Calgary is the only one of the four cities in the top 10 to score 100 for stability.
4. Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne did not fall as far as Sydney in 2024, dropping just one place, but is affected by similar issues with housing costs and affordability. However, health and education were rated highly, with scores of 100 each.
advertisement3. Zurich, Switzerland
Switzerland’s largest city jumps from sixth place in 2023 to third place in 2024, helped by perfect scores for healthcare and education. Zurich, along with other cities ranked in the top three, regularly features in indexes of the best places to work and live, but it is also one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
Danes seem to be happy with second place, having maintained their position behind Vienna for the third year in a row. Denmark is consistently ranked as the second happiest country in the world after Finland, so there’s something to be said for living in the capital of a country where people are so satisfied with their lifestyle. Copenhagen maintains perfect scores for stability, education and infrastructure.
1. Vienna, Austria
Vienna received 100 points in four of the five categories this year, but, as in last year’s report, the lack of major sporting events lowered its score to 93.5 in the culture and environment categories. Still, it received perfect scores in most categories, enough to narrowly edge out Copenhagen for the top spot.