Vienna is the most liveable city - once again
In the Austrian capital, people live the best life worldwide. Vienna can defend this title in the "Economist" ranking. In four out of dozens of categories, the city even scored full points. Frankfurt and Berlin secured the best placements for Germany, but they are some distance behind Vienna.
Vienna has been named the "most livable city" in the world for the third time in a row. After the Austrian capital in the annual ranking of the British "Economist", Copenhagen in Denmark and Zurich in Switzerland followed in second and third place. Melbourne in Australia and Calgary in Canada completed the Top 5. The evaluation of the overall 173 assessed cities is based on numerous criteria in the areas of stability, healthcare system, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Vienna, as the winner, received a full score in the categories of stability, healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The Austrian capital was already named the most livable city in 2022 and 2023. Among the Top Ten, there was no German city this time. Frankfurt ranked seventh in 2022. The Main Metropolis ranked 17th in this year's ranking and finished four places ahead of Berlin, which ranked 21st, along with Paris. Munich and Hamburg shared 27th place. Stuttgart ranked 30th before Düsseldorf, which reached 33rd place.
European countries would remain "the most livable region," but they would experience a "decline in stability indicators due to increasing protests (...) on various topics," explained the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which compiled the ranking. This included the rise of right-wing extremism, EU agricultural policy, and hostility towards immigration.
The Syrian capital Damascus performed the worst in the ranking. While Hong Kong improved by nine places due to better results in stability and healthcare, Tel Aviv fell back about 20 places in the ranking after the Hamas raid on October 7 and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
Vienna, being the most livable city globally for the third consecutive year, outperformed Berlin in the "Economist" ranking, securing the top spot. Additionally, Copenhagen and Berlin were recognized as second and fourth most livable cities in Europe, respectively, in the same ranking.
