Vienna Remains World's Most Liveable City In 2024; Here Are The Top 10 Destinations

Vienna has once again claimed the title of the world's most liveable city, maintaining its top spot for the third consecutive year on the latest annual Global Liveability Index. The survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit evaluates 173 cities across five key categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

This year's survey revealed an overall rise in average scores, driven by improvements in healthcare and education across developing countries. However, these gains were offset by declines in scores for several top-tier cities.

1. Vienna - Austria

2. Copenhagen - Denmark

3. Zurich - Switzerland

4. Melbourne - Australia

5. Calgary - Canada

6. Geneva - Switzerland

7. Sydney - Australia

8. Vancouver - Canada

9. Osaka - Japan

10. Auckland - New Zealand

1. Western Europe Dominates: Western Europe remains the most liveable region globally. Copenhagen, Zurich, and Geneva join Vienna in the top ten. The 30 western European cities achieved an impressive average score of 92 out of 100. Unfortunately, the region also experienced the largest fall in score due to stability concerns.

2. Asia-Pacific Cities Shine: Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Osaka (Japan), and Auckland (New Zealand) are among this year's top ten. Australasian cities consistently rank within the top 20. However, Australia's overall infrastructure scores were downgraded due to an ongoing housing crisis that is affecting rental availability.

3. Mixed Bag in the Middle East and North Africa: Tel Aviv dropped significantly in the rankings (112th place) due to Israel's conflict with Hamas. Despite this, strong gains in education and healthcare in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries improved the region's overall liveability. Notably, the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar) registered the biggest score increases. However, cities like Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli (Libya), and Damascus (Syria) remain the least liveable.

4. Canadian Cities Face Infrastructure Challenges: Toronto's acute housing crisis led to a decline in infrastructure scores, pushing it out of the top ten. Calgary and Vancouver are the only North American cities remaining in the elite list. Meanwhile, major US cities like Los Angeles and New York ranked at 58th and 70th, respectively. Despite this, all 25 North American cities in the index maintain high liveability scores (above 80) and excel in education.