On 17 June 2025, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the Global Liveability Index 2025, ranking Copenhagen (Denmark) as the most liveable city in the world, ending the three-year reign of Vienna (Austria).
- Austria’s Viennadropped to 2nd position, while Switzerland’s Zurich retained its 3rd position in the 2025 list.
- Damascus (Syria) remains the least liveable city in the world.
Note: No Indian city is ranked on the 2025 list of the top 10 liveable cities in the world.
About EIU’s Global Liveability Index:
i.The EIU Index ranks 173 cities across the world by assessing which location offers the best and worst living conditions.
ii.The annual index ranks cities based on 30 qualitative and quantitative indicators, which are broadly classified into 5 categories:
- Stability: Evaluating crime rates, terrorism, and policies
- Healthcare: Access to health systems, hospitals, and medications
- Culture and environment: Air quality, cultural activities, etc.
- Education: Quality and access to education
- Infrastructure: Transport systems, housing, utilities, telecommunications
iii.The average liveability score across the 173 cities in the index was the same as last year, at 76.1 out of 100.
Global Liveability Index 2025: Top 5 and Bottom 5:
| Most Liveable | Least Liveable | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City (Country) | Index Value | Rank | City (Country) | Index Value |
| 1 | Copenhagen (Denmark) | 98.0 | 173 | Damascus (Syria) | 30.7 |
| 2 | Vienna (Austria) | 97.1 | 172 | Tripoli (Libya) | 40.1 |
| 3 | Zurich (Switzerland) | 97.1 | 171 | Dhaka (Bangladesh) | 41.7 |
| 4 | Melbourne (Australia) | 97.0 | 170 | Karachi (Pakistan) | 42.7 |
| 5 | Geneva (Switzerland) | 96.8 | 169 | Algiers (Algeria) | 42.8 |
Note: The top 10 rankings of the Global Liveability Index 2025 also include Sydney (Australia) at 6th position, Osaka (Japan) and Auckland (New Zealand) jointly at 7th position, followed by Adelaide (Australia) at 9th position, and Vancouver (Canada) at 10th position.
Key Highlights:
i.Copenhagen has secured a perfect score of 100 in stability, education and infrastructure categories and secured 95.8 and 95.4 in healthcare and culture and environment, respectively.
ii.The Asia-Pacific has the widest range of scores, with the most liveable city, Melbourne (Australia), in 4th position, and its least liveable, Dhaka (Bangladesh) at 171st rank.
- Osaka (Japan) was the only Asian city in the top 10 (ranked 7th)
iii.Western European cities accounted for six of the ten largest declines in the 2025 Global Liveability Index rankings, with all United Kingdom (UK) cities covered (London, Manchester, and Edinburgh), experiencing notable drops.
iv.Vancouver is the only North American city in the top 10.
- The 25 cities in North America saw their average overall score slip slightly to 90.4 in the 2025 survey.
- Honolulu, Hawaii, was the highest-ranked city in the United States, securing the 23rd position overall.
v.Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia has seen the biggest improvement since last year, jumping 13 places from 148th to 135th.
- It is followed by Jakarta (Indonesia), which has improved by 10 positions from 142nd to 132nd.
vi.Canadian cities in particular have suffered, with Calgary dropping from fifth place in 2024 to 18th place in 2025 after a marked drop in its healthcare score.
v.London (UK) dropped from 45th to 54th place, Manchester fell from 43rd to 52nd, and Edinburgh declined from 59th to 64th, primarily due to rising instability.
vi.Tehran (Iran), along with several cities in Taiwan and India, also recorded reduced stability scores amid growing risks of military conflict.
vii.The bottom of our liveability rankings is largely filled by cities from the Middle East and Africa.
About Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU):
EIU is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group the sister company to the Economist newspaper.
Managing Director (MD) – Robin Bew
Headquarters – London, The United Kingdom (UK)
Founded – 1946
