Copenhagen named world’s most liveable city again as 2026 rankings revealed

Copenhagen has officially been named the world’s most liveable city for the second year running, once again topping the prestigious Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Global Liveability Index for 2026.

The Danish capital secured an overall score of 98.0 out of 100, outperforming 172 other cities assessed across five key categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Copenhagen holds onto the crown

After claiming the number one position last year, Copenhagen has successfully defended its title thanks to perfect scores for stability, education and infrastructure.

The city finished ahead of Vienna, which placed second with 97.1 points, while Melbourne rounded out the top three on 97.0.

Sydney, Zurich, Geneva, Osaka, Adelaide, Vancouver and Tokyo completed this year’s top 10, highlighting the continued dominance of European, Australian and Japanese cities in the annual rankings.

How the rankings are decided

The EIU’s Global Liveability Index evaluates 173 cities worldwide using 30 indicators across five categories. Stability and culture and environment each account for 25% of a city’s overall score, while infrastructure contributes 20%, healthcare 20% and education 10%.

The index is widely used by businesses, governments and international organisations to compare quality of life around the globe.

According to the report, Western Europe remains the world’s strongest-performing region overall, while several Asian cities continue to climb the rankings thanks to improvements in infrastructure and healthcare.

The world’s top 10 most liveable cities

The 2026 rankings are:

1. Copenhagen, Denmark – 98.0
2. Vienna, Austria – 97.1
3. Melbourne, Australia – 97.0
4. Sydney, Australia – 96.8
5. Zurich, Switzerland – 96.6
6. Geneva, Switzerland – 96.5
7. Osaka, Japan – 96.2
8. Adelaide, Australia – 96.0
9. Vancouver, Canada – 95.9
10. Tokyo, Japan – 95.8

At the opposite end of the table, cities affected by conflict and political instability continued to rank lowest for overall liveability.