Unveiled: The Best City to Live in Worldwide — Plus Australia's Rank Among the Top 10

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Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has taken the top position in the ranking of the world’s most liveable cities, surpassing Vienna and Zurich in this year’s standings by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2025 Global Livability Index.

The rankings evaluate cities based on factors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure, assigning each a score out of 100 which determines their placement.

For the first time since 2021, Vienna did not secure the top spot, falling behind Copenhagen in categories such as stability, culture, and environment.

The 173 cities in the index were not evaluated based on affordability.

Copenhagen ranked second in both the 2023 and 2024 rankings. Source: AP / Linda Kastrup

Three Australian cities in the top 10

Melbourne ranked fourth for the second consecutive year, achieving perfect scores in both healthcare and education.

Sydney climbed one place from 2024 to secure sixth place this year, while Adelaide entered the top 10 at ninth. Both cities achieved perfect scores in healthcare and education but fell short of Melbourne in culture and environment.

A chart illustrating the world's top 10 most liveable cities.

Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide have made the top 10, coming in at numbers four, six, and nine, respectively. Source: SBS News

The average liveability across all surveyed cities was a score of 76.1 out of 100, with stability dropping slightly, offset by rising scores for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

The city that showed the greatest improvement is Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia, climbing to 135th place, where scores for healthcare and education increased significantly, resulting in a 13-spot boost in its position.

Calgary, Canada, experienced the steepest decline in the rankings, dropping from fifth to 18th place. Vancouver is now the only Canadian city remaining in the top ten.

In the United Kingdom, three cities — Manchester, London, and Edinburgh — notably declined due to reduced stability ratings.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Damascus in Syria remains the least livable of the 173 cities surveyed, with Tripoli in Libya ranked just above it.

Despite last year’s change in leadership, Syria’s capital continues to bear the impact of prolonged civil conflict and has shown no progress in terms of livability.