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Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026

These Are the World’s Most Liveable Cities in 2019

These Are the World’s Most Liveable Cities in 2019

Time to tell your smug New York or London friends that they’ve made the wrong life choice: The world’s most liveable cities are generally less global capital, more regional second city, a new ranking shows.

The top 10 most liveable cities in the world, and their scores according to The Global Liveability Index 2019, are:

1. Vienna, Austria (99.1)

2. Melbourne, Australia (98.4)

3. Sydney, Australia (98.1)

4. Osaka, Japan (97.7)

5. Calgary, Canada (97.5)

6. Vancouver, Canada (97.3)

7. Tokyo, Japan (97.2 tie)

7. Toronto, Canada (97.2 tie)

9. Copenhagen, Denmark (96.8)

10. Adelaide, Australia (96.6)

For the second year in a row, Vienna, Austria has been ranked the most liveable city in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The Austrian capital had almost perfect scores for stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure and health care.

Melbourne, Australia took the second-place spot, following close behind Vienna’s score. Vienna had taken the top spot from Melbourne last year after seven consecutive years at No. 1.

Sydney, Austraila; Osaka, Japan; and Calgary, Canada make up the remaining top five on the annual Global Liveability Index of 140 cities around the world.

Not one U.S. city landed in the top 10 this year. Honolulu scored the highest among U.S. cities, ranking 22nd. Atlanta trailed at 33rd, followed by Pittsburgh at 34th and Seattle at 36th.

“Despite increased gun violence, five U.S. cities have registered improved scores over the past year,” Agathe Demarais, the EIU’s Global Forecasting Director, said in a press release regarding the report. “Atlanta has risen 17 places due to a major upgrade in its stability score, while Seattle rose by 10 places.”

Despite being rated highly for culture, New York only ranked 58th. The city’s rank lagged due to lower scores in infrastructure and stability, with a higher perceived risk of crime and terrorism.

The EIU examines the quality of health care, education, infrastructure, stability, and culture when assessing living conditions of each city. More than 30 factors are taken into account when calculating each rank, which are then complied into a weighted score between one and 100.

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