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This European capital is officially the world’s most liveable city in 2024

Europe is home to the top three most liveable cities in the world, according to The Global Liveability Index 2024

Grace Beard
Written by
Grace Beard
Travel Editor
Hofburg Palace on a sunny day with cherry blossom tree, Vienna, Austria
Photograph: Shutterstock
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Vienna is not only one of the world’s best cities for culture – home to classical music, the grand Imperial Palace of Hofburg and world-class museums – but it’s also a pretty decent place to live.

For the third year running, the Austrian capital has come out on top in The Global Liveability Index. The annual report, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit, analyses the liveability of 173 cities globally to create the ranking. 

What exactly makes a city liveable? Put simply, a liveable city is one with good-quality living conditions, which can mean everything from the availability of housing and the level of petty crime to the quality of the roads. The Global Liveability Index factored in all that and more in their analysis, looking into 30 factors across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Vienna got perfect scores in all but one category (culture and environment). In fact, Western Europe fared very well overall, with Copenhagen and Zürich coming second and third respectively. Geneva came in fifth, drawing with Calgary. Both Canada and Switzerland had two cities in the top ten. 

These are the top 10 most liveable cities in the world

1. Vienna
2. Copenhagen
3. Zürich
4. Melbourne
5. Calgary 
6. = Geneva
7. Sydney
8. = Vancouver
9. Osaka
10. = Auckland

Want to read more about the world’s most (and least) liveable cities? You can download the full report on the EIU website here.

Did you see that this city is set to overtake France as the world’s most visited destination?

Plus: the world’s best airlines have just been named for 2024.

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