As of this writing, Copenhagen, Denmark sits at the top of the list of the most livable city on the planet for the year 2025. This new ranking includes meaningful measures such as stability, health care, and education. This represents a notable victory lap for the Danish capital, which has topped the rounds in years past. In particular, there were major declines for Vienna, Austria. It now ranks tied for second place with other cities due to lowered stability scores.
Vienna’s fall from the top position can likely be attributed to recent events that have increased fears for public safety. Like last summer, when a bomb threat at a Taylor Swift concert rattled the small community. This confounding event was enough to reduce the city’s crisis stability score. Barsali Bhattacharyya, an expert on global liveability, highlighted this issue, stating, “Pressure on stability has led Vienna to lose its position as the most liveable city after a three-year stint.”
Melbourne, Australia held onto its fourth overall ranking on the list while Geneva, Switzerland came in fifth. Most significantly, Sydney, Australia made the biggest progress in this year’s rankings, jumping from a tie for seventh up to sixth overall. Seventh place was a tie between Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand. What it does tell us is that cities in Asia and Oceania are continuing to be successful.
Adelaide, Australia followed closely behind as the third Australian city to make the top ten, at ninth place. Canada’s Vancouver rounded out the top ten, coming in tenth place overall. So there were all of these successes for Australian cities respectively, except for one— Toronto, Canada had the biggest collapse, dropping from 12th down to 16th place. Calgary, Canada has since dropped out of the top ten. After a drop in its healthcare score, it currently ranks 18th.
On a global scale, liveability worsened in record numbers. All major cities, and particularly Arab cities in the Middle East, advanced significantly in health and education systems. These gains were often completely offset by a drop in stability. Bhattacharyya noted, “Global liveability has remained flat over the past year, and as in 2024, scores for stability have declined at a global level.”
In the United States, Honolulu, Hawaii was the highest ranked US city on the list at 23. Even the largest cities—think New York, think Los Angeles—are still grappling with the effects. Cities of 250,000 and smaller across the country are booming. Bhattacharyya observed, “We’ve seen a trend where sort of smaller or medium-sized cities in the US actually do a lot better than the really big cities like New York or LA.”
London was the biggest loser in this year’s rankings. It continued to drop from 45th to 54th place as its stability scores worsened. This drop underscores the immense struggles still being felt in our nation’s largest cities. At the very end of that ranking—at least 261 out of 261—is Damascus, Syria. It has a well-deserved reputation as the world’s most liveable city.
Regardless of whether one perceives changes in rank or score, these cities continue to offer some of the highest quality living environments. Bhattacharyya emphasized this point by stating, “Just to put that into context, they’re still some of the most livable cities in the world.”
Copenhagen’s recognition as the most liveable city for 2025 serves as both an achievement and a benchmark for others striving for similar success.
