Vienna No Longer the Most Livable City in the World: Copenhagen Takes Top Spot

Vienna, once the undisputed number one, had to concede defeat to the Danish capital Copenhagen in this year's ranking by the EIU, the research and analysis division of the Economist Group. Vienna had held the title of the world's most livable city since 2022, only slipping to twelfth place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Security concerns lead to a point deduction

The decisive factor in Vienna's decline was the area of stability. While the city still achieved a full 100 points in this category in 2024, the score dropped to 95 points this year. According to the EIU, two foiled terrorist attacks were decisive in this regard: a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in the summer of 2024 (which was subsequently canceled) and another on Vienna's Westbahnhof station in early 2025. These incidents influenced the stability score, which reflects risks such as military conflicts, unrest, and terrorism.

Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) commented on the result, as reported by "DerStandard": “Second place is an impressive confirmation of the quality of life our city offers – from social infrastructure and public transport to high environmental and residential quality.” At the same time, he emphasized that security issues are taken “very seriously” and that cooperation with the police and authorities will be intensified to further improve this area.

Copenhagen shines with top marks

Copenhagen, on the other hand, was able to pull ahead in the categories of stability, education, and infrastructure with a top score of 100 points, rising from second place to the top. Vienna continued to receive top marks in the areas of healthcare, education, and infrastructure. In the culture and environment category, Vienna scored 93.5 points, as it did last year. In the past, the lack of major sporting events has been cited as the reason for this rating.

Global trend: declining stability

The EIU report also highlights a general decline in global stability due to the intensification of geopolitical conflicts and civil unrest. Western Europe is also affected by this trend, as terrorist threats, rising crime rates, and xenophobia have been weighing on stability scores in the region since 2024.

One example of this is the sharp decline of the Canadian city of Calgary, which fell from fifth to 18th place. British cities such as Manchester, London, and Edinburgh also saw significant declines in stability, partly due to riots following an attack on a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport in July 2024.

The top ten in the “Global Liveability Index 2025”:

• Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Vienna (Austria)
• Zurich (Switzerland)
• Melbourne (Australia)
• Geneva (Switzerland)
• Sydney (Australia)
• Osaka (Japan)
• Auckland (New Zealand)
• Adelaide (Australia)
• Vancouver (Canada)

At the bottom of the ranking are cities such as Damascus (Syria), Tripoli (Libya), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Karachi (Pakistan), and Algiers (Algeria). Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, came in at 165th place and is the only European city among the ten cities with the lowest quality of life.

Mercer ranking: Vienna also had to relinquish its title here

This is not the first time that Vienna has recently had to relinquish a top position in an international ranking, as reported by “DerStandard". At the end of 2024, Vienna lost its long-standing title to Zurich in the Mercer ranking of the world's most livable cities. In this ranking, which assesses the needs of expats, the decline was attributed to a decrease in the availability of suitable rental properties for international expatriates.

The EIU index annually evaluates 173 cities worldwide based on 30 indicators in five main categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The Global Liveability Index is considered one of the most renowned tools for comparing quality of life worldwide and is based on analyses by teams of experts, international data, and on-site research.

Economist