As well as Vienna in poll position, three other European cities made the top 10 in a year when global instability and the cost of living weighed heavily.
ADVERTISEMENTThere are many superlatives you could use to describe Vienna; beautiful, historic, picturesque, cultured. Now, you can add another to the list: consistent.
For the third consecutive year, the Austrian capital has been crowned the most liveable city in the world out of the 173 listed in The Economist’s annual Global Liveability Index.
The city’s grip on the top spot seems unassailable, with 2024 marking the ninth occasion out of the last 11 index reports it has taken the top spot.
With perfect scores in four out of the five categories this year, it was by no means a clean sweep for Vienna, but given its continued dominance, its citizens seem to have written the book on how to live well.
Much of this year’s top 10 remains largely unchanged from 2023, though there has been a change in fortunes for one or two cities which have either risen higher in the rankings or slid back.
One noticeable change is the dominance of western European cities in particular, taking both the top three places and having four spots in total at the top of the table.
How are the world rankings decided?
Liveability is a subjective concept and of course, The Economist’s Global Liveability Index is not infallible. However, scores are determined by a set of benchmarks.
Each city’s overall ranking is finalised by averaging scores out of 100 in five different categories: stability, culture and environment, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Across the five broad categories are 30 points of data and analysis which help to inform the score in each category.
For instance, under stability, the threat of terrorism, incidences of civil unrest, and levels of crime are taken into account. In healthcare and education, the quality and availability of services are looked at. For the infrastructure category, public transport, roads, transport links, housing, and utilities are assessed.
The average score this year has risen to 76.1 out of 100, thanks to recorded improvements in areas such as education and healthcare. However, stability was the one notable category where scores plummeted.
As well as protests in Europe centred on immigration and agriculture, and civil unrest and wars in other parts of the world, the ongoing cost of living crisis continues to pinch.
Inflation has been cited as the principal cause for housing crises in several of the cities in the rankings, including Australia and Canada where the availability of rented accommodation is low and the cost of buying properties is soaring.
Eastern Europe catching up with the West
Mirroring Vienna’s success in The Economist’s index, western Europe also remains the most liveable region in the world, coming top in four categories out of five.
There are an impressive 30 western European cities in the rankings this year, racking up a total average score of 92 out of 100.
ADVERTISEMENTHowever, the region’s overall score has slipped backwards since last year because of growing instability in countries like Germany and Ireland which have been rocked by disruptive protests, the survey noted.
The biggest improvement across all the regions was noted in fourth-placed eastern Europe based on higher education and healthcare scores.
Some of the biggest movers in the ranking included Budapest, which received a score of 92 and moved up seven places to 32th.
Belgrade and Bucharest (both with a score of 74.5) moved up six and five places respectively to sit in joint 94th position.
ADVERTISEMENTIn terms of those noting the worst declines, eight cities in western Europe dived down the table. Dublin saw the steepest decline, falling seven places to 39th position.
German cities generally saw the worst slides, with Munich slipping six places to 27th in joint position with Hamburg which fell five spots.
Stuttgart, Berlin, and Dusseldorf all dropped lower in the table, as did Brussels and Barcelona.
The biggest fall was registered by Tel Aviv which tumbled 20 places from 92nd to 112th, due to lower scores in stability because of the impact of the war in Gaza, as well as knocks in the culture and environment, and infrastructure categories.
ADVERTISEMENTSo, who took the top 10 places?
9. Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland registered the second-best improvement in 2023, leapfrogging 25 places to reach the top 10. It managed to hold its position in 2024 with consistently high scores across all five categories and a perfect 100 for education.
9. Osaka, Japan
Another non-mover, Osaka is the only Japanese city and the only Asian city to be represented in the top 10. It received the lowest culture and environment score among the 10 highest-ranking cities with 86.8, but received a perfect score of 100 in the stability, healthcare, and education categories.
7. Vancouver, Canada
While Toronto dropped out of the top 10 this year, Vancouver managed to cling on to a spot at the top this year, though it has slipped two places. As with other entries in Canada, and also Australia, housing has been a significant factor in this year’s decline.
ADVERTISEMENT7. Sydney, Australia
While top 10 European counterparts have witnessed a resurgence up the rankings in 2024, Sydney, along with Melbourne, has slid 3 places this year to 7th position because of a shortfall of available housing.
5. Geneva, Switzerland
Maintaining standards while others have slipped back has stood the Swiss city of Geneva in good stead, rising from joint 7th with Calgary in 2023 to joint 5th with the Canadian city this year. On a par with the only other Swiss entry in the top 10, Zurich, Geneva was marked down slightly on its cultural offering.
5. Calgary, Canada
Bucking the trend facing other Canadian cities in the top 10, Calgary has improved its ranking in 2024, rising two places to recover some of the ground it lost from taking a third-place position in 2022. It was only one of four cities in the top 10 to score 100 for stability.
4. Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne saw less of a decline than Sydney in 2024, slipping only one place, but has nonetheless been impacted by similar issues around housing costs and availability. Healthcare and education were highly rated, however, scoring 100 respectively.
ADVERTISEMENT3. Zurich, Switzerland
The largest city in Switzerland has jumped from sixth place in 2023 to third in 2024, bolstered by perfect scores in healthcare and education. Zurich, along with the other mentions in the top 3, is consistently featured in indices of best places to work and live but is also one of the most expensive cities in the world to reside in.
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
It seems the Danes are perfectly happy to be in second place, retaining the number two spot for the third consecutive year behind Vienna. Denmark is also consistently placed as the second happiest country in the world behind Finland, so there’s something to be said for living in the capital of a country that is so content with its way of life. Copenhagen retains perfect scores in stability, education, and infrastructure.
1. Vienna, Austria
Vienna received scores of 100 in four out of five categories this year, but as with last year’s report, the city was marked down in the culture and environment category with a score of 93.5, owing to a lack of major sporting events. Still, full marks in most categories are enough to edge out close contender Copenhagen from the top spot.
