EIU ranks Copenhagen as world’s most livable city in 2026

LONDON: Copenhagen has been ranked the world’s most livable city for a second consecutive year, retaining the top spot in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) 2026 Global Livability Index.

The Danish capital overtook Vienna last year and maintained its lead after earning perfect scores for stability, education and infrastructure.

The EIU ranked 173 cities worldwide based on five key categories: health care, education, stability, infrastructure and environment.

Vienna, which topped the rankings from 2022 through 2024, shared second place this year.

Australia’s Melbourne and Sydney ranked third and fourth, respectively, while Switzerland’s Zurich and Geneva placed fifth and sixth.

Japan’s Osaka was the highest-ranked city in Asia, placing seventh overall. Australia’s Adelaide ranked eighth, followed by Vancouver in Canada at ninth and Japan’s capital, Tokyo, in 10th place.

Karachi was the only Pakistani city included in the rankings, placing 170th out of 173 cities, unchanged from last year.

Only Dhaka in Bangladesh (171st), Tripoli in Libya (172nd) and Damascus in Syria (173rd) ranked lower than Karachi.

The report also noted that geopolitical tensions and conflicts contributed to declines in the rankings of several Middle Eastern cities.

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Tehran ranked 164th, while Muscat recorded one of the steepest drops, falling 14 places to 123rd. Kuwait City slipped 12 places to 105th.