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 2025

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research unit of the prestigious British media group The Economist, has released its updated Global Quality of Living Index for 2025. The ranking includes 173 cities from around the world. This year, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, unexpectedly took first place, which topped the list for the first time, beating the perennial favorite of recent years, Vienna.

We will tell you more about which other cities were recognized as the best for living and the main changes in the indicators below.

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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?

According to Barsala Bhattacharya, deputy director of the EIU’s industry division, 2025 was marked by a decline in the overall level of stability in the world. This negatively affected even cities that traditionally occupied high positions in the ranking. In particular, London, Manchester and Edinburgh lost their places in the top due to internal unrest caused by the attack in Southport.

The decline in the rating also affected a number of Asian megacities - against the background of growing geopolitical tensions in India and around Taiwan.

At the same time, some regions showed noticeable progress. For example, the city of Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia rose by 13 places due to active investments in the field of health and education within the framework of the state program Vision 2030. Jakarta also improved its position - due to increased internal stability.

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 - Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is the only North American city in the top ten, with a score of 95.8. Perfect education, good culture, healthcare; slightly weaker infrastructure.

9th place - Adelaide,  Australia

With a score of 95.9, Adelaide remains in the top 10: perfect health and education, high stability, slightly lower culture.

8th place - Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland also scored 96.0, perfect for education, high marks for healthcare and culture; slightly lower in infrastructure.

7th place - Osaka, Japan

Osaka became the only Asian city in the top 10, sharing 7th place with a score of 96.0. Perfect stability, healthcare, education; stable infrastructure; slightly lower scores in culture due to limited mass events.

6th place - Sydney, Australia

The Australian metropolis took sixth place with a score of 96.6. Perfect marks for education, healthcare and infrastructure, a slight decline in culture.

5th place – Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva took fifth place with a score of 96.8. Perfect 100 points in four categories, suffered a slight decline only in the cultural sphere.

4th place - Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne retained fourth place with a score of 97.0: top marks for education and healthcare, excellent infrastructure and strong cultural potential.

3rd place – Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich shared second place with Vienna with the same score of 97.1. Perfect 100 points for education and healthcare, slightly lower marks for culture and infrastructure.

2st place – Vienna, Austria

Vienna came in second with an overall score of 97.1. Perfect marks for healthcare, education and infrastructure, but stability suffered due to terrorist threats.

1nd place - Copenhagen, Denmark

This year, the Danish capital topped the rankings for the first time with a score of 98.0. The city received 100 points for stability, education and infrastructure, and extremely high marks for culture and healthcare.

The EIU Global Quality of Life Index for 2025 has once again confirmed that the most comfortable cities in the world are those that harmoniously combine stability, developed infrastructure, access to quality healthcare and education, as well as cultural diversity. Copenhagen's leadership this year demonstrates the effectiveness of the Scandinavian model of urban development, focused on the well-being of citizens. At the same time, the global situation remains dynamic: geopolitical risks, the housing crisis and other challenges directly affect the positions of cities in the ranking.

Do you dream of living in Copenhagen, Vienna or Zurich - cities that lead the quality of life rating?

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