Economist 2025: Vienna remains top positioned
The EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group and provides forecasting and consulting services on an international level. The "Global Liveability Index", which has been published annually since 2004, compares 173 cities around the world.
In June 2025, after holding the top position for many years, Vienna was ranked the world’s second most liveable city behind Denmark´s Copenhagen. Back in 2018, Vienna became the first European city ever to win the ranking, replacing Melbourne, which had held the top spot for seven years. Vienna maintained its number one position in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In addition to criteria such as education and infrastructure, Vienna scored particularly well when it came to healthcare provision. Vienna was awarded the same overall score as the Swiss city of Zurich, both standing at 0.9 index points just behind Copenhagen. Following Vienna and Zurich, Australia´s Melbourne and Geneva in Switzerland complete the top five.
Vienna´s top positions in international rankings:
- 2024: First place in the ranking of global international congress events conducted by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
- 2024: 2nd place amongst the most liveable cities Mercer´s Quality of Living City Ranking survey
- 2025: 2nd place amongst the most liveable cities in the Global Liveability Index ranking compiled by the “Economist Intelligence Unit” (EIU)
- 2025: 1st place in Monocle´s Quality of Life Survey 2025 in the category "housing"
