Copenhagen ranks first in the 2026 Global Liveability Index, followed by Vienna and Melbourne. Among the cities recording the greatest improvement in quality of life is New York.
Copenhagen has once again been ranked the world’s most liveable city. The Danish capital has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Global Liveability Index for the second consecutive year. At the bottom of the ranking, which assesses factors such as education, stability, healthcare, infrastructure and culture, is Damascus, the capital of Syria. Among the cities recording the greatest improvement over the past year is New York.
The Global Liveability Index is an annual ranking compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), evaluating 173 cities worldwide.The assessment is based on five categories: stability (security, crime, risk of conflict and civil unrest), healthcare (quality and accessibility of healthcare services), culture and environment (climate, cultural offer, recreational activities and environmental quality), education (availability and quality of schools) and infrastructure (transport, energy networks, telecommunications and public services).
For the second consecutive year, Copenhagen ranked first in the 2026 index with a score of 98 out of 100. The Danish capital achieved perfect scores (100/100) in healthcare, stability and infrastructure. Second place remained in Europe, with Vienna, Austria, scoring 97/100. It received perfect marks for healthcare, education and infrastructure. Third place went to Melbourne, Australia, which also scored 97/100, achieving top marks in healthcare and education.
According to the EIU, the ten lowest-ranked cities are almost all affected by war, widespread poverty, or both. In 2026, Damascus ranked last. The Syrian capital endured years of civil war and continues to face instability and terrorist attacks despite the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the end of 2024. The Economist Intelligence Unit nevertheless notes a slight improvement in the city’s healthcare system over the past two years.
Just above Damascus is Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which has been under Russian military attack since 2022. Its 166th position represents a further decline compared with the previous year. Another city experiencing a significant deterioration in quality of life is Tehran, Iran’s capital, following the conflict involving Israel and the United States. It ranks 164th.
One city recorded a greater improvement in liveability than any other over the past year: New York. In November, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor on a platform focused on issues affecting the city’s middle- and lower-income residents, including the cost of living, housing affordability, and civil rights.
New York’s overall score increased by 1.2 points, allowing it to climb three places to 66th. Despite this improvement, it remains the third least liveable city in the United States, according to the EIU ranking. Asian cities also recorded an overall improvement. Tokyo improved its score for culture and environment, rising three places to enter the top ten. Meanwhile, Singapore and Hong Kong maintained their positions despite recording lower scores in culture and environment, reflecting the impact of increasingly restrictive policies on rights and freedoms.
Looking at the ranking as a whole, the average global liveability score remains 76.1, unchanged from the previous year. However, the average stability score declined by 0.5 points, largely due to worsening conditions in the Middle East, while healthcare scores improved by an average of 0.7 points, particularly across East Asia.
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