Four of the ten most livable cities in the world are located in Europe. But not a single one is in Southern Europe. Check out the ranking.
Have you ever visited a city and left it with such a positive impression that you immediately searched for real estate listings and job offers when you got home? Anyone who has visited one of the top ten cities in The Economist’s “Global Liveability” Index can probably relate. The 2023 rankings offer a look at the best places to live this year and include cities from every continent.
How are the best cities chosen? The overall score, out of 100, is determined by looking at many factors, such as the quality of healthcare, education, cultural scene, infrastructure, etc. Many of the 173 cities studied in the report saw their scores increase after the lifting of the latest COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, the index’s average score for all cities (except Kyiv) is now 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 the previous year, the highest score in 15 years for the original list of 140. cities.
Despite an improvement for the majority of cities after the pandemic, a notable change in this year’s report compared to 2022 is the downgrading of many European cities. This is partly due to falling stability scores, with some cities feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine. Frankfurt and Amsterdam have left the top 10, previously occupying the 7th and 9th places in 2022.
UK cities are among the European cities with the steepest declines. Edinburgh, which first reached the top 50 last year in 35th place, has fallen to 58th in 2023. Similarly, London (34th in 2022) and Manchester (32nd last year) have both recorded poor scores this year, losing 12 and 16 places respectively. In France, Lyon fell 12 places and found itself in 37th position.
So, which cities are in the top 10?
| City | Country | Rank | Overall score | Stability | Health | Culture & environment | Education | Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka | Japan | 10 | 96.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 86.8 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| Auckland | New Zealand | 10 | 96.0 | 95.0 | 95.8 | 97.9 | 100.0 | 92.9 |
| Toronto | Canada | 9 | 96.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 94.4 | 100.0 | 89.3 |
| Calgary | Canada | 7 | 96.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 87.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Geneva | Swiss | 7 | 96.8 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 94.9 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| Zürich | Swiss | 6 | 97.1 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 96.3 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| Vancouver | Canada | 5 | 97.3 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 97.2 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| sydney | Australia | 4 | 97.4 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 94.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| melbourne | Australia | 3 | 97.7 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 95.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| copenhagen | Denmark | 2 | 98.0 | 100.0 | 95.8 | 95.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Vienna | Austria | 1 | 98.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 93.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
No change in mind – Vienna retains its crown as the world’s most livable city for another year. The Austrian capital has topped the rankings in the last 10 surveys, coming first in eight of them. It was only dethroned by the COVID-19 pandemic when many museums and restaurants closed.
The report notes that Vienna continues to offer “an unrivaled combination of stability, excellent infrastructure, quality education and health services, and an abundance of culture and entertainment.” The only flaw, he says, is the lack of major sporting events.
Although its ranking dropped in last year’s list following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Kyiv has returned to the index, albeit with low scores. Bombings and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital have caused its infrastructure and stability scores to plummet, but it has made a significant comeback overall, despite being only 165th out of 173 cities.