And the winner is – once again – Copenhagen. The Danish capital has been crowned the world's most liveable city for another year, narrowly ahead of Vienna. Falstaff TRAVEL takes a closer look at the latest rankings.
Where is the best place to live in the world? According to the latest Global Liveability Index 2026 by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Copenhagen remains the world's most liveable city. Vienna follows in second place, while Melbourne ranks third and Zurich also secures a place in the top five. German cities, meanwhile, are absent from the highest ranks.
The annual index evaluates 173 cities using 30 indicators across five categories: stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure. The rankings are widely used by international companies as a benchmark when calculating hardship allowances for employees working abroad.
The Danish capital stands out for its consistently outstanding performance across almost every category. Copenhagen achieves top scores in stability, education and infrastructure, allowing it to defend the number one position it claimed from Vienna last year. The Austrian capital once again finishes in second place.
Vienna topped the rankings several times between 2018 and 2024, but lost its leading position to Copenhagen in 2025. The decisive factor was a lower score in the stability category. According to the EIU, this was partly due to the widely publicised terrorist plot targeting a Taylor Swift concert in the summer of 2024.
Europe remains the strongest-performing region in the rankings. Alongside Copenhagen and Vienna, Zurich (5th) and Geneva (6th) also feature among the world's ten most liveable cities. German cities, however, fail to make the top ten, with Frankfurt last appearing in the global top ten in 2022.
Australia is particularly well represented, with Melbourne (3rd), Sydney (4th) and Adelaide (8th) all securing places in the top ten. Vancouver is the only North American city to feature among the leaders.
Japan also performs strongly, with Osaka (7th) and Tokyo (10th) making the list. Home to around 33.4 million people, Tokyo is the only megacity in the top ten. Large metropolitan areas often receive lower scores in the index, as factors such as traffic congestion, population density and crime can negatively affect overall liveability.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Damascus remains the world's least liveable city. The steepest declines this year were recorded in cities across the Middle East, where ongoing conflicts continue to affect living conditions.
Meanwhile, several Chinese cities improved their positions, largely thanks to increased investment in healthcare and broader access to medical services.
