1. ArchDaily
  2. city rankings

city rankings: The Latest Architecture and News

World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life

For the second consecutive year, Vienna is the world’s most liveable city according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2023 Global Liveability Index. Topping the ranking for the fourth time in five years, Vienna has excelled in stability, culture and entertainment, and reliable infrastructure. Copenhagen in Denmark maintained its second position while Melbourne and Sydney came in third and fourth position, rising to the top 5 where they previously had a consistent presence among the leading positions, before the pandemic.

Under the titles of Optimism and Instability, this year’s global index score has returned to pre-Covid-19 days, highlighting that the world has fully recovered from the pandemic. Ranking living conditions in 173 cities based on stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, the survey suggests that nowadays, “life in cities is a bit better than at any time in the past 15 years”, although Stability scores dropped on average in 2023, due to worldwide clashes, political disruptions, social protests, inflation, and wars.

World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life - Image 1 of 4World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life - Image 2 of 4World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life - Image 3 of 4World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life - Image 4 of 4World's Most Liveable Cities in 2023: Discover the Cities Offering the Highest Quality of Life - More Images+ 8

2012 Worldwide City Rankings Reveal Important Regional Trends

Mercer, a consulting leader that helps other organizations around the world advance the health, wealth and performance of their employees, releases a survey annually that helps multinational companies and other organizations compensate employees when placing them on international assignments. Their survey for the year 2012 evaluates over 221 cities around the world on their quality of living with New York City as the base city and highlights several trends that can add onto what we as designers and urban planners believe makes a city successful and livable.

Read on for the 2012 results.