Most Liveable Cities Rankings 2026

Snapshot 2026-09-14. The main table uses the EIU Global Liveability Index 2026, surveyed in May 2026 across 173 cities. Copenhagen scores 98 and holds first place for a second year. Visitor counts sit in the travel-city list. Headcounts sit in the city-population list.

EIU 2026 top ten

The public summary prints overall scores as integers. Copenhagen is at 98. Vienna, Melbourne and Sydney are at 97. Ranks 5 through 10 all sit at 96: Zurich, Geneva, Osaka, Adelaide, Vancouver and Tokyo. Osaka’s culture-and-environment score is 87; perfect marks in stability, healthcare and education still keep it in the top ten. Tokyo climbed three places back into the top ten. The 173-city mean is 76.1, unchanged from last year. Western Europe averages 91.7. Asia’s 58 cities average 73.9 and take nine of the top twenty slots. The board follows the public PDF: 98 in S, 97 in A, 96 and ranks 5–7 in B, 96 and ranks 8–10 in C. Auckland at 95 (12th) and Luxembourg at 95 (15th) go in D.

How this list is ranked

Snapshot 2026-09-14. The main table follows the EIU Global Liveability Index 2026 public summary, surveyed in May 2026 across 173 cities. The public PDF prints overall scores as integers. Bands: 98 in S, 97 in A, 96 and ranks 5–7 in B, 96 and ranks 8–10 in C. Auckland at 95 (12th) and Luxembourg at 95 (15th) appear with scores on the official movers-down table, so they sit in D on the board. Visitor volume: 2026 travel-city rankings. Population size: 2026 city-population rankings. Names: docs/glossaries/liveable-cities-2026-glossary.md.

Chinese cities on the movers-up table

EIU says Chinese cities moved up because healthcare scores rose. Fuzhou is at 75 and rank 93, up seven places — the largest rank gain on that table. Shenyang is at 79 and rank 84, the highest overall score among the Chinese cities listed there. Wuxi, Nanjing, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Dalian, Xi’an, Chongqing and Guangzhou appear on the same official table. Five Chinese cities now score above 80 on healthcare.

Mercer 2024 assignee quality of living

The latest city list Mercer publishes on its site is still the 3 December 2024 edition. It measures day-to-day life for international assignees and uses New York as the base city. Zurich is first, Vienna second, Geneva third, Copenhagen fourth, Auckland fifth. Singapore is 30th and first in Asia. No official 2025 or 2026 city ranking table is on the public site.