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World’s top 10 most and least liveable cities in 2025: Only one Asian city ranks high; Bangladesh and Pakistan among the lowest

Global Liveability Index 2025 Full List: The 2025 liveability rankings expose stark contrasts across the globe. Western Europe dominates, Asia-Pacific makes gains, but cities like Karachi and Dhaka remain near the bottom.

Global Liveability Index 2025: The world's 10 best and worst cities to live in' most and least liveable cities in the world for 2025, best city to live, worst city to live

Global Liveability Index 2025: Find out the 10 best and worst cities to live in. (Source: iStock)

Global Liveability Index 2025: In recent years, urban migration has risen as people seek better economic prospects and living standards, giving rise to the concept of liveable cities—sustainable, inclusive, and equipped with essential services, amenities, and opportunities that foster personal and professional growth.

According to the recently released Global Liveability Index 2025 by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the global average livability score across the 173 cities in the index was the same as last year, at 76.1 out of 100.

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The index saw overall gains in education, healthcare, and infrastructure in 2025; however, the global average stability scores declined by 0.2 points amid rising geopolitical instability, civil unrest, and the global housing crisis.

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Western European cities once again dominated the global liveability rankings in 2025, followed closely by the Asia Pacific region, and the Canadian city, Vancouver represented North America in the top ten.

In contrast, cities in the Middle East and Africa ranked among the least liveable; however, on a more positive note, with marginal improvements in healthcare, education and infrastructure on average.

There were advancements within cities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with Al Khobar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notably moving up the ranks. The Kingdom is spending extensively on healthcare and education as part of Vision 2030, a comprehensive economic diversification initiative aimed at reducing the country’s dependency on oil.

The World’s Top 10 Most Liveable Cities in 2025:

Copenhagen has claimed the top spot to become the world’s most liveable city in 2025, ending Vienna’s three-year dominance by achieving perfect scores in stability, education, and infrastructure.

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The Austrian city saw a massive decline in its stability score due to terror threats, yet it outpaced the Danish capital in healthcare.

Rank	City, Country	Total Score	Stability	Healthcare	Culture & Environment	Education	Infrastructure
1	Copenhagen, Denmark	98	100	95.8	95.4	100	100
2	Vienna, Austria	97.1	95	100	93.5	100	100
2	Zurich, Switzerland	97.1	95	100	96.3	100	96.4
4	Melbourne, Australia	97	95	100	95.8	100	96.4
5	Geneva, Switzerland	96.8	95	100	94.9	100	96.4
6	Sydney, Australia	96.6	95	100	94.4	100	96.4
7	Osaka, Japan	96	100	100	86.8	100	96.4
7	Auckland, New Zealand	96	95	95.8	97.9	100	92.9
9	Adelaide, Australia	95.9	95	100	91.4	100	96.4
10	Vancouver, Canada	95.8	95	95.8	97.2	100	92.9

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit- Global Liveability Index 2025

Note: To view the complete scores across all indices, please scroll or swipe to the right

The World’s Bottom 10 Least Liveable Cities in 2025:

At the other end of the spectrum, cities in conflict zones or those battling weak infrastructure and public services continued to rank poorly.

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Damascus retained its position as the least liveable city in the world, scoring just 30.7. Tripoli, Dhaka, and Karachi also remained near the bottom.

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While some cities in the Middle East and Africa showed marginal improvements in infrastructure and healthcare, persistent instability continues to drag overall liveability down.

Stability scores have also declined in places like Tehran, Taiwan, and India due to mounting tensions and the threat of armed conflict; listed below are the bottom 10 countries in the Global Liveability Index 2025:

Rank	City, Country	Total Score	Stability	Healthcare	Culture & Environment	Education	Infrastructure
1	Damascus, Syria	30.7	20	29.2	40.5	33.3	32.1
2	Tripoli, Libya	40.1	30	45.8	37.5	58.3	41.1
2	Dhaka, Bangladesh	41.7	45	41.7	40.5	66.7	26.8
4	Karachi, Pakistan	42.7	20	54.2	35.9	75	51.8
5	Algiers, Algeria	42.8	35	54.2	45.4	58.3	30.4
6	Lagos, Nigeria	43.5	30	37.5	54.4	41.7	53.6
7	Harare, Zimbabwe	43.8	40	29.2	56.7	66.7	35.7
7	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	44.1	30	41.7	52.5	58.3	46.4
9	Kyiv, Ukraine	44.5	40	41.7	53.2	75	26.8
10	Caracas, Venezuela	44.9	35	37.5	45.1	66.7	53.6

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit- Global Liveability Index 2025

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Note: To view the complete scores across all indices, please scroll or swipe to the right

Methodology: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Global Liveability Index 2025 assessed 173 cities globally based on 30 indicators divided into several factors like stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure, to disclose how comfortable these cities are to live in.

Visual representation of the EIU’s most and least liveable cities in the world 2025:

Global Liveability Index 2025: The world’s 10 best and worst cities to live in 2025 (Source: EIU)

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More

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