Vancouver has ranked among the top 10 most livable cities in the world in this year’s report published by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Last year, two Canadian cities were featured among the highest-ranking cities: Vancouver and Calgary.
Calgary, which ranked fifth last year, fell out of the global top 10—and is now ranked 18th.
This is the second consecutive year that Toronto has no longer appeared among the highest-rated cities.
EIU’s annual Global Livability Ranking is based on how each city performs in five categories, examining factors such as stability and infrastructure.
Join the Angus Reid Forum and get $5 in points!
The top 10 most livable cities: 2025 vs 2024
The table below features the full rankings for the top 10 most livable cities of 2025.
| Rank | Location | Overall livability score | Stability | Healthcare | Culture and environment | Education | Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 98.0 | 100.0 | 95.8 | 95.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2 | Vienna, Austria | 97.1 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 93.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2 | Zurich, Switzerland | 97.1 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 96.3 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 4 | Melbourne, Australia | 97.0 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 95.8 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 5 | Geneva, Switzerland | 96.8 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 94.9 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 6 | Sydney, Australia | 96.6 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 94.4 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 7 | Osaka, Japan | 96.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 86.8 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 7 | Auckland, New Zealand | 96.0 | 95.0 | 95.8 | 97.9 | 100.0 | 92.9 |
| 9 | Adelaide, Australia | 95.9 | 95.0 | 100.0 | 91.4 | 100.0 | 96.4 |
| 10 | Vancouver, Canada | 95.8 | 95.0 | 95.8 | 97.2 | 100.0 | 92.9 |
Second place and seventh place were tied spots.
This year’s top three livable cities are the same as they were in 2024, though Vienna and Copenhagen switched spots, with the former now coming in second and the latter now coming in first.
Zurich, which was previously in third place, is now tied for second place with Vienna. Melbourne has retained its fourth-place ranking,
Geneva now stands alone in fifth place, no longer sharing this spot with Calgary.
Sydney, Osaka, and Auckland have all moved up in rank. Adelaide, which ranked ninth, represents the third Australian city to make it into the top 10.
Vancouverthe sole Canadian city to make the cut (rank 10), dropped three ranks overall.
Methodology
The EIU evaluated 173 cities worldwide using 30 distinct indicators, which were equally split among five categories.
Indicators were scored as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable, or intolerable, and were then weighted to produce a rating from one (intolerable) to 100 (ideal).
Below are the five categories and their total weight, as well as the indicators grouped into each category.
- Stability (25%): Presence of petty and violent crime, and threat of terror, military conflict, and civil unrest/conflict.
- Healthcare (20%): Availability and quality of private and public healthcare, availability of over-the-counter drugs, and general healthcare indicators adapted from the World Bank.
- Culture and environment (25%): Humidity/temperature rating, discomfort by climate to travellers, level of corruption and censorship, social or religious restrictions, sporting and cultural availability, food and drink, and consumer goods and services.
- Education (10%): Availability of private and public education, and public education indicators adapted from the World Bank.
- Infrastructure (20%): Quality of road networks, public transportation, international links, energy and water provision, telecommunications, and availability of good quality housing.
A closer look at Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city, is one of the most popular destinations for newcomers settling in Canada.
This west coast city is the only city in North America to make it onto the top 10 list.
Coming in as the tenth most livable city in the world, Vancouver received an overall livability score of 95.8—and maintained scores above 95 in all but the infrastructure category.
Last year, Vancouver came in seventh place and received a livability score of 96.6, meaning it dropped 0.8 points overall.
When breaking it down by category, the only category Vancouver scored lower in this year was healthcare (95.8 in 2025 compared to 100 in 2024). Despite the drop from last year, Vancouver’s score for healthcare this year is equal to that of Copenhagen, which ranked first overall among the 173 cities assessed.
Vancouver’s overall three-slot drop in the ranking is due primarily to other countries’ scores having increased, not due to Vancouver scoring lower.
Other Canadian cities
While the EIU report did not provide a full list of which specific Canadian cities were assessed beyond Vancouver, Calgary, Torontoand Montrealit did provide details for these four.
According to EIU, these four cities fell in rank largely due to a decline in healthcare scores.
Toronto: One of the most prominent large cities newcomers settle in, Toronto received a livability score of 94.9 (0.9 points lower than in 2024). It came in 16th place this year, sliding down four ranks.
Calgary: This They house city slid down 13 spots since last year, the highest decrease of any city featured. It was deemed the 18th most livable city worldwide and received a livability score of 94.7 (dropping 2.1 points).
Montreal: The largest city in QuebecMontreal, took 19th place—moving up four ranks since 2024. Its livability score was 93.8, which is 0.4 points higher than before.
Subscribe and get our Newcomer’s Guide to Canada
