Copenhagen Tops EIU's 2026 Most Livable Cities; Asian Cities Rise
The 2026 Global Liveability Index, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), evaluated 173 cities based on factors such as stability, healthcare, culture, education, and infrastructure. For the second consecutive year, Copenhagen, Denmark, secured the top position with a score of 98, achieving perfect ratings in stability, education, and infrastructure. Following closely behind were Vienna and Melbourne in second and third place, respectively. The overall global average held steady at 76.1, with Western Europe leading at 91.7. Asia's score improved to 73.9, featuring nine cities in the top 20, including Fuzhou and Tokyo. Stability saw a decrease of 0.5 points, notably in Southwest Asia and North Africa, with Muscat and Kuwait City experiencing significant drops, while Damascus remained the least livable city. This report was authored by Reyyan Dogan and released on September 8, 2026.
Key facts
- Copenhagen ranked as the world's most livable city for the second consecutive year in the EIU's 2026 Global Liveability Index.
- Copenhagen scored 98 out of 100, with perfect scores in stability, education, and infrastructure.
- Vienna and Melbourne follow Copenhagen in second and third places.
- The global average score remained unchanged at 76.1.
- Western Europe is the highest-scoring region with an average of 91.7.
- Asia recorded the largest improvement, rising 0.3 points to 73.9.
- Nine Asian cities are now in the top 20, partly due to better healthcare scores in Chinese cities.
- Fuzhou rose seven places to 93rd, and Tokyo climbed to tenth place.
- Stability declined by an average of 0.5 points across all 173 cities.
- Muscat and Kuwait City saw the largest falls, dropping 14 and 12 places respectively.
- Tehran entered the bottom ten, ranking 164th.
- Damascus remains the least livable city, followed by Tripoli.
- The ten lowest-scoring cities include Harare, Port Moresby, and Karachi.
- The report was written by Reyyan Dogan and published on ArchDaily on September 8, 2026.
Entities
Institutions
- The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
- ArchDaily
- Economist Intelligence Unit
Locations
- Copenhagen
- Denmark
- Vienna
- Austria
- Melbourne
- Australia
- Sydney
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Geneva
- Osaka
- Japan
- Adelaide
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Tokyo
- Fuzhou
- China
- Muscat
- Kuwait City
- Kuwait
- Tehran
- Damascus
- Tripoli
- Harare
- Zimbabwe
- Port Moresby
- Papua New Guinea
- Karachi
- Pakistan
- Oman
- Iran
- Syria
- Libya
- Algiers
- Algeria
- Dhaka
- Bangladesh