Copenhagen named ”Most Liveable” by global media-outlet
Copenhagen is now the world’s most liveable city according to Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2025 global liveability index. With this result, the Danish capital moves up one step and knocks Vienna off the top of EIU’s Liveability Index in 2025, ending a three-year run of dominance by the Austrian city.
An aid to making informed decisions
EIU is a unit of global policy media The Economist. Their insights are backed by a network of 400 analysts and they help financial institutions, governments and multinational corporations make informed decisions and navigate complex business environments. Their global liveability index assessment scores 173 cities across the world on 30 indicators, divided into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure
Stability
Denmark as a whole is an extremely safe and stable country with little crime and no armed conflict. On this issue, Copenhagen scores a perfect 100. Stability weighs in at 25% of the total and comprises:
- Prevalence of petty crime
- Prevalence of violent crime
- Threat of terror
- Threat of military conflict
- Threat of civil unrest/conflict
Healthcare
Healthcare in Denmark is free, universal and of high quality. While everyone has access to free hospitals and doctors, there is also a lively market for private high-quality healthcare for those who cannot wait their turn in the public system. In the assessment, Copenhagen scored 95,8 . Healthcare weighs 20 percent of the total and covers issues such as:
- Availability of private healthcare
- Quality of private healthcare
- Availability of public healthcare
- Quality of public healthcare
- Availability of over-the-counter drugs
- General healthcare indicators
Culture and environment
Copenhagen is famous for its dining scene, its nightlife and its wide variety of art, music and theatre offerings. It also plays host to several large sporting events every year. Denmark is the least corrupt country in the world, and it is famously open to individual expression. Because Danes as a whole are not very religious, they are puzzled by overt expressions of faith but place no restrictions on the religions of others. While Denmark is a Nordic country with long, dark winters, the weather is rarely dangerously cold or hot. Culture and environment weighs 25 percent of the total and includes
- Humidity/temperature rating
- Discomfort caused to travellers by climate
- Level of corruption
- Social or religious restrictions
- Level of censorship
- Sporting availability
- Cultural availability
- Food & drink
- Consumer goods & services
Education
Copenhagen scores a perfect 100 on education. Denmark offers free-of-charge education from pre-school to PHD, and its universities are all excellent, with University of Copenhagen leading the pack as the best ranked university in the EU. Education weighs 10 percent of the total and includes:
- Availability of private education
- Quality of private education
- Public education indicators
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is another category where Copenhagen bags a perfect 100. A state-of-the-art driverless Metro is the latest addition to a public transport system that makes Copenhagen a very easy city to move around, while its international airport boasts direct routes to most metropolises. Denmark as a whole is one of the most digitalized economies in the world, housing is high quality, most energy is CO2 neutral and its piped water Is second to none. Infrastructure weighs 20 percent and includes
- Quality of road network
- Quality of public transport
- Quality of international links
- Availability of good quality housing
- Quality of energy provision
- Quality of water provision
- Quality of telecommunications
Cities in western Europe and developed countries in Asia-Pacific continue to dominate the top end of the rankings in this year’s survey (conducted between April 14th and May 11th). Vienna, which fell to joint second place, saw a sharp decline in its stability score following recent terrorism scares, but attained perfect scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure. It was joined in second place by Zurich (Switzerland), while Geneva (also Switzerland) came in fifth. Between them, in fourth place, was Melbourne, with two other Australian cities, Sydney and Adelaide, also making the top ten. As in previous surveys, the rest of the leading cities were spread across Japan, New Zealand and Canada.