Denmark's capital Copenhagen has topped the list of the world's most liveable cities, edging out Vienna and Zurich in this year's rankings, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2025 Global Liveability Index.
The list grades cities based on criteria such as health care, education, and infrastructure, assigning each a score out of 100, which is then ranked.
For the first time since 2021, Vienna was knocked from the top spot, trailing behind Copenhagen in terms of stability, culture, and environment.
The publication attributed Austria's capital's fall in the ranking to a decline in its stability score, following a bomb threat to Taylor Swift's concert in 2024.
The 173 cities on the list were not assessed on affordability.
Copenhagen ranked second in both the 2023 and 2024 rankings. Source: AP / Linda Kastrup
Three Australian cities in the top 10
Melbourne ranked fourth for the second consecutive year, achieving perfect scores in both health care and education.
Sydney rose one place from 2024, coming in at sixth place this year, while Adelaide moved into the top 10, ranking ninth. Both cities also had perfect scores for health care and education, but were lower than Melbourne in terms of culture and environment.
Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide have made the top 10, coming in at numbers four, six, and nine, respectively. Source: SBS News
The city that showed the greatest improvement is Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia, climbing to 135th place, where scores for health care and education increased significantly, resulting in a 13-spot boost in its position.
Calgary, Canada, experienced the steepest decline in the rankings, dropping from fifth to 18th place. Vancouver is now the only Canadian city remaining in the top ten.
Three cities in the United Kingdom — Manchester, London, and Edinburgh — were also among the most notable decliners due to a drop in their stability ratings.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Damascus in Syria remains the least livable of the 173 cities surveyed, with Tripoli in Libya ranked just above it.
Despite last year's change in leadership, Syria's capital continues to bear the impact of prolonged civil conflict and has shown no progress in terms of liveability.
