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The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes the Global Liveability Index every year, scoring 173 cities worldwide across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. The most recent edition, released in June 2025, put Copenhagen in first place for the first time, ending Vienna’s multi year run at the top. Three Australian cities made the top 10.
At a Glance
- Best Overall: Copenhagen
- Best in Australia: Melbourne
- Best for Relocation: Auckland
- Best Comeback: Adelaide
- Best for Asia Access: Osaka
1. Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen scored a perfect 100 in stability, education and infrastructure in the 2025 index, with 95.8 in healthcare and roughly 95.4 in culture and environment. It moved up from 2nd in 2024. There are no direct flights from Australia, so getting there typically means at least one stopover via Asia or the Middle East.
- Country: Denmark
- 2025 EIU Score: 98.0
- 2024 Rank: 2nd (98.0)
- Stability Score: 100
- Direct Flight from Australia: No
2. Vienna, Austria
Vienna held the world’s most liveable city title for multiple consecutive years, including 2024, before slipping to joint second in 2025. The fall came down to a single category: its stability score dropped from a perfect 100 to 95, after a foiled terrorist plot forced the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts there in August 2024, alongside a separate disrupted attack on a train station.
- Country: Austria
- 2025 EIU Score: 97.1
- 2024 Rank: 1st (98.9)
- Stability Score: 95 (down from 100)
- Direct Flight from Australia: No
2. Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich tied Vienna for second, up from 3rd in 2024. It is Switzerland’s largest city and a recurring EIU top three entrant, and it also topped Mercer’s separate Quality of Living ranking in its most recent 2024 edition. Zurich and Geneva both regularly top the EIU’s related Worldwide Cost of Living survey, so high liveability there comes with a high price tag for anyone actually relocating.
- Country: Switzerland
- 2025 EIU Score: 97.1
- 2024 Rank: 3rd (97.1)
- Direct Flight from Australia: No
4. Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne scored 97.0, the highest of any Asia Pacific city and Australia’s best performer in 2025, holding steady at 4th for the second year running. Melbourne held the EIU’s world’s most liveable city title outright for seven consecutive years, from 2011 to 2017. In the 2025 index it posted perfect 100 scores in both healthcare and education, with a stability score of 95.
- Country: Australia
- 2025 EIU Score: 97.0
- 2024 Rank: 4th (97.0)
- Held No.1 Title: 2011-2017 (7 years)
- Direct Flight from Australia: Home turf
5. Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva scored 96.8, holding steady at 5th, the second Swiss city in the top 10 alongside Zurich. It hosts the UN’s European headquarters and numerous international agencies, which underpins its stability and infrastructure scores. Like Zurich, it sits among the world’s most expensive cities to actually live in.
- Country: Switzerland
- 2025 EIU Score: 96.8
- 2024 Rank: 5th tied (96.8)
- Direct Flight from Australia: No
6. Sydney, Australia
Sydney scored 96.6, up from 7th tied in 2024. It matched Melbourne’s perfect 100 scores for healthcare and education, though its culture and environment score of 94.4 came in below Melbourne’s 95.8, the main gap between the two cities this year.
- Country: Australia
- 2025 EIU Score: 96.6
- 2024 Rank: 7th tied (96.6)
- Healthcare / Education Score: 100 / 100
- Direct Flight from Australia: Home turf
7. Osaka, Japan
Osaka tied for 7th, up from 9th tied in 2024, Japan’s only top 10 entry. It’s also one of the more accessible top 10 cities for Australians: Jetstar operates nonstop flights from both Sydney and Brisbane, at just under 10 hours flying time, with no stopover required.
- Country: Japan
- 2025 EIU Score: 96.0
- 2024 Rank: 9th tied (96.0)
- Direct Flight from Australia: Yes, Jetstar (Sydney/Brisbane)
7. Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland tied Osaka on 96.0, also up from 9th tied in 2024. It’s the closest of the top 10 cities to Australia, with multiple daily direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane taking around three hours, by far the easiest city on this list to visit or relocate to.
- Country: New Zealand
- 2025 EIU Score: 96.0
- 2024 Rank: 9th tied (96.0)
- Direct Flight from Australia: Yes, ~3 hours
9. Adelaide, Australia
Adelaide climbed two places to crack the top 10, up from 11th in 2024. Its longer ranking history is the rollercoaster of this list: 10th in 2019, up to 3rd in 2021 on the back of Australia’s early COVID-19 response, then a sharp fall to 30th in 2022 as other cities reopened faster while Adelaide held onto restrictions longer. It has climbed back steadily since: 12th in 2023, 11th in 2024, and now 9th in 2025.
- Country: Australia
- 2025 EIU Score: 95.9
- 2024 Rank: 11th
- 2022 Rank (lowest point): 30th
- Direct Flight from Australia: Home turf
10. Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver rounds out the top 10, down from 7th tied in 2024. It’s the only city on this list with a direct flight connection from Australia outside Australasia: an Air Canada and Qantas codeshare operates nonstop between Sydney and Vancouver, a roughly 14.5 hour flight.
- Country: Canada
- 2025 EIU Score: 95.8
- 2024 Rank: 7th tied (96.6)
- Direct Flight from Australia: Yes, Qantas/Air Canada codeshare
How This Ranking Works
The EIU scores each of 173 cities out of 100 across five weighted categories: stability (25 per cent), healthcare (20 per cent), culture and environment (25 per cent), education (10 per cent) and infrastructure (20 per cent). The index was originally built to help multinational employers calculate hardship allowances for staff sent on international assignments, and it is still used that way today, alongside general relocation and lifestyle comparisons.
None of the world’s biggest cities crack the top 10, New York, London and Tokyo all sit well outside it, a pattern that has held for years: liveability rewards manageable scale and low risk over global city status.
How the Rankings Have Shifted Since Last Year
Vienna was the reigning No.1 in the 2024 edition, its third consecutive year at the top with a score of 98.9. Copenhagen sat 2nd. In the space of one year the two swapped places: Copenhagen climbed to No.1 while Vienna slipped to joint second, driven almost entirely by one category. Its stability score dropped from a perfect 100 to 95, after a foiled terrorist plot forced the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts there in August 2024, alongside a separate disrupted attack on a train station.
Adelaide is the biggest Australian mover, climbing two places from 11th to crack the top 10 at 9th. Osaka and Auckland both jumped two places too, from 9th tied to 7th tied. Vancouver fell the furthest, down three places from 7th tied to 10th.
Zoom out further and Adelaide’s longer history is even more dramatic: it ranked 10th back in 2019, climbed as high as 3rd in 2021 on the back of Australia’s early COVID-19 response, then crashed to 30th in 2022 as other cities reopened faster while Adelaide held onto restrictions longer, before its steady climb back to where it sits today. Two cities that were in the 2019 top 10, Calgary and Tokyo, are no longer there at all.
2024 vs 2025 Most Livable Cities Rankings Compared
| City | 2024 Rank | 2025 Rank | Change |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | 2nd (98.0) | 1st (98.0) | Up 1 |
| Vienna, Austria | 1st (98.9) | 2nd tied (97.1) | Down 1 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | 3rd (97.1) | 2nd tied (97.1) | Up 1 |
| Melbourne, Australia | 4th (97.0) | 4th (97.0) | Held steady |
| Geneva, Switzerland | 5th tied (96.8) | 5th (96.8) | Held steady |
| Sydney, Australia | 7th tied (96.6) | 6th (96.6) | Up 1 |
| Osaka, Japan | 9th tied (96.0) | 7th tied (96.0) | Up 2 |
| Auckland, New Zealand | 9th tied (96.0) | 7th tied (96.0) | Up 2 |
| Adelaide, Australia | 11th | 9th (95.9) | Up 2 |
| Vancouver, Canada | 7th tied (96.6) | 10th (95.8) | Down 3 |
| Calgary, Canada | 5th tied (96.8) | Dropped out of top 10 | Dropped out |
Most Livable Cities in the World FAQs
The index scores each city out of 100 across five weighted categories: stability (25 per cent), healthcare (20 per cent), culture and environment (25 per cent), education (10 per cent) and infrastructure (20 per cent). It was originally designed to help employers calculate hardship allowances for staff on international assignments, and it’s still used that way today alongside general relocation and lifestyle comparisons.
There’s no direct flight from Australia, so it’s at least one stopover away, commonly via Asia or the Middle East, and Denmark’s cost of living and visa requirements are separate considerations from its liveability score. The ranking measures quality of life once you’re there, not how easy it is to get a visa or get there.
The EIU surveys a fixed panel of 173 cities globally, and among the Australian cities on that panel, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide have consistently scored well on stability, healthcare and education, even if the ranking order shifts year to year, as Adelaide’s rollercoaster history above shows.
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