These Are the 10 Most Livable Cities in the World, New Study Says

None of the cities are in the United States.

trabantos/Shutterstock
trabantos/Shutterstock

The Economist released its yearly ranking of the most livable cities around the world. The 2022 results show a trend of improvement across all cities, but overall the world's quality of living is still lower than before the pandemic began. Each city of the 173 included was judged on several factors and ranked based on an average score.

"The concept of liveability is simple: It assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions," the Economist report states. "Every city is assigned a rating for relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure."

Here are the best countries to live in, based on those standards:

  1. Vienna, Austria
  2. Copenhagen, Denmark
  3. Zurich, Switzerland
  4. Calgary, Canada
  5. Vancouver, Canada
  6. Geneva, Switzerland
  7. Frankfurt, Germany
  8. Toronto, Canada
  9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  10. Melbourne, Australia and Osaka, Japan tied.


Vienna, Austria is ranked at the top, as it was in 2018 and 2019. The city received perfect stability, healthcare, education, and infrastructure scores. In culture and environment, Vienna received a 96.3 out of 100. Melbourne and Osaka are tied, with Melbourne having the more competitive culture and environment score, while Osaka has a much higher healthcare score than Melbourne.

"Western European and Canadian cities dominate the top of our rankings," the report states. "Life is almost back to normal in these cities on account of high covid-19 vaccination rates and the easing of restrictions."

If you're thinking about relocating and want to prioritize access to healthcare and a good time, this list is an essential resource. You can read the full report at The Economist.

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Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.