Every year, The Economist magazine publishes a global ranking of the comfort of living, which is determined by analyzing benchmarks in 5 categories. Find out how the ranking is made and which cities are the best in 2024

The Economist recently published its Global Liveability Index ranking of the most liveable cities in the world. Compared to 2023, the top ten has hardly changed.

We talk about the cities that were recognized as the best for life below.

How is the assessment conducted?

The Economist Global Living Comfort Index is determined by analyzing a set of benchmarks. The overall score is completed by averaging the scores in five categories: sustainability, culture and environment, education, health and infrastructure.

In total, more than 30 indicators are analyzed. For example, the "stability" category includes the threat of terrorism, cases of civil unrest, and the level of crime. In the field of health care and education, they look at the quality and availability of services. According to the category of infrastructure, public transport, roads, transport connections, housing and communal services are evaluated.

What are the results in general around the world?

This year, the global average score rose slightly to 76.1 out of 100, thanks to recorded improvements in areas such as education and health.

However, the indicators of stability became worse. This was influenced by protests in Europe, which were focused on migration and problems in the field of agriculture. Also, thanks to civil unrest and wars in other parts of the world, the cost of living crisis continued to worsen.

Inflation was cited as a major cause of the housing crisis in several cities in the ranking, including Australia and Canada, where the availability of rental housing is low and the cost of purchasing property is rising rapidly.

Life in Eastern Europe is becoming more and more comfortable

Western Europe continues to remain the most livable region in the world. This year, there are 30 Western European cities in the ranking with an overall average score of 92 out of 100. However, Eastern Europe also shows high positions this year, which took fourth place in terms of higher education and health care.

The most significant changes were demonstrated by Budapest, which received 92 points and rose seven positions to 32nd place. Belgrade and Bucharest (both with a score of 74.5) moved up six and five places, respectively, to 94th place.

Cities that lost their positions in the rating

The biggest decline in Europe was recorded in Dublin, which dropped seven places to 39th place.

German cities performed worst overall, with Munich falling six places to 27th, along with Hamburg, which dropped five places. Stuttgart, Berlin and Dusseldorf fell lower in the table, as did Brussels and Barcelona. The main reason is the growth of instability, because the country was shaken by subversive protests.

Tel Aviv recorded the biggest drop, falling 20 positions from 92nd to 112th. This happened because of lower stability indicators (the consequences of the war in Gaza), as well as because of deficiencies in culture, environment and certain indicators of infrastructure.

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Top 10 most comfortable cities to live in the world

So, which cities have become the most comfortable to live in according to The Economist magazine.

10th place - Auckland, New Zealand

For the second year in a row, the city has demonstrated fantastic results in improving the quality of life. It received consistently high scores in all five categories and a perfect 100 on the education measure.

9th place - Osaka, Japan

Osaka is the only Japanese city, and the only Asian city overall, to make the top 10. The city received the lowest scores in the culture and environment categories, but scored a perfect 100 in sustainability, healthcare and education.

8th place - Vancouver, Canada

Canada's largest city, Toronto, lost ground this year and fell out of the top ten, while Vancouver managed to stay at the top, although it slipped two places. The main reason for this is the housing crisis.

7th place - Sydney, Australia

Sydney, along with Melbourne, dropped 3 positions to 7th place this year due to a shortage of affordable housing.

6th place – Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva continues to maintain high scores, while the ranking of other cities is falling. This year, the city received the maximum points in four categories, while the indicators of culture turned out to be a little weaker.

5th place – Calgary, Canada

In contrast to the decline in the ranking shown by other Canadian cities, Calgary improved its ranking in 2024, moving up two places. It became one of four cities in the top 10 to receive 100 points for sustainability.

4th place - Melbourne, Australia

In 2024, Melbourne saw a smaller decline than Sydney, falling just one place, but was still affected by similar housing cost and affordability issues. However, health care and education scored highly, scoring 100 points respectively.

3rd place – Zurich, Switzerland

If in 2023 the largest city of Switzerland occupied the sixth step, this year it jumped to the third, demonstrating excellent results in the field of health care and education. However, while Zurich consistently ranks high in various rankings of the best places to work and live, it is also one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.

2nd place - Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen retains the second place for the third year in a row. Denmark is also consistently ranked as the second happiest country in the world after Finland. Therefore, it is safe to say that local residents are happy and satisfied with their lives. Copenhagen maintains an excellent record for stability, education and infrastructure.

1st place – Vienna, Austria

This year, Vienna scored 100 points in four out of five categories, but, as in last year's report, the city was marked down in the Culture and Environment category with a score of 93.5 due to the lack of major sporting events.

So, the beautiful, historical, picturesque and cultural capital of Austria can consider itself the most stable. For the third year in a row, Vienna received the title of the most livable city in the world out of 173 that participated in the survey. That's why its residents can best tell what it's like to live well.

We will remind you! The Expat Insider Report conducts an annual survey of the best and worst countries for expats to live in. In 2024, the rating of the most unfriendly countries was topped by Kuwait. Find out more about the least suitable countries to move to in 2024 in this article.

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Igor Usyk - Head of Migration department at VisitWorld

To ensure a safe move to a new country, I advise you to consult a specialist. My colleagues, qualified specialists with a legal education, will help you avoid unpleasant situations during migration.

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Products from Visit World for a comfortable trip:

Travel guide for 200 countries;

Legal advice from a local specialist on visa and migration issues;

Travel insurance around the world (please select the country of interest and citizenship to receive services);

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