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Knowledge Nugget: Why is the Global Liveability Index 2025 relevant for UPSC Exam?

Global Liveability Index 2025 reveals striking contrasts in liveability across the world. What does the index measure, and what are its key findings? Here’s everything you need to know. Also, go ‘Beyond the Nugget’ to learn about the Smart Cities Mission.

Knowledge Nugget: Why is Global Liveability Index 2025 relevant for UPSC Exam

The EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2025 assessed 173 cities globally based on 30 indicators divided into several factors. (Image: AI generated)

Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today on Global Liveability Index 2025.

Knowledge Nugget: Global Liveability Index 2025

Subject: Indices

(Relevance: UPSC frequently asks questions on reports and indices. The key takeaways from these reports are also essential fodder for your Mains examination for intricate points. In 2023, UPSC has asked questions on the World Water Development Report; in 2019, the question was on the Global Competitiveness Report. Therefore, you need to get a comprehensive understanding of these indices.)

Why in the news?

Urbanisation and urban migration have increased in recent years as people pursue better economic opportunities and living conditions. This has led to the concept of liveable cities—places that are sustainable, inclusive, and offer essential services, amenities, and opportunities for both personal and professional growth. In this context, let’s know about the Global Liveability Index 2025 and its key highlights.

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Key Takeaways :

1. Global Liveability Index 2025, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), assesses which locations around the world offer the best and worst living conditions.

2. Methodology and Indicators: The EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2025 assessed 173 cities globally based on 30 indicators across theses five categories to disclose how comfortable these cities are to live in.

📌Stability,

📌Healthcare,

📌Culture and environment,

📌Education, and

📌Infrastructure.

3. Each indicator is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. The ratings are then weighted to provide a score from 1 to 100. The liveability rating of a city is given both as an overall score and as a score for each category. An overall position in the ranking of 173 cities is also provided.

Key Highlights of Global Liveability Index 2025

1. This year’s 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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2. 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.

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

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4. 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.

5. 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.

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World’s Top 10 Most Liveable Cities in 2025
Rank	City, Country	Total Score	Stability	Health -care	Culture & Environment	Education	Infra
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

Note: While there are no formal rankings for 3rd and 4th place, their relative positions are implied by their differing scores. (Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit- Global Liveability Index 2025.)

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

7. Among the least Least Liveable Cities in 2025, 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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8. Notably, Stability scores have also declined in places like Tehran, Taiwan, and India due to mounting tensions and the threat of armed conflict.

What is Urbanisation?

Urbanisation is the process of transformation that occurs as a society evolves from predominantly rural to predominantly urban areas. It involves the increase in the proportion of a country’s population residing in urban areas, leading to the expansion and growth of cities and towns. Additionally, it encompasses not only the physical expansion of cities but also their social, economic, and cultural transformations.

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BEYOND THE NUGGET: Smart Cities Mission

1. The Smart Cities Mission was launched on June 25, 2015 with the aim of creating 100 smart cities. The cities were selected in rounds of competition held from January 2016 to June 2018, and they had five years from their respective selection, that is 2021 to 2023, to complete the projects.

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2. Among its strategic components was ‘area-based development’, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which ‘smart solutions’ are applied covering larger parts of the city.

Categories of ‘urban’ areas as per Indian Census

The Indian Census identifies two categories of ‘urban’ areas:

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1. Statutory towns — those which have urban local bodies like municipal corporation, municipality or municipal committee.

2. Census towns — All those places satisfying the following 3 criteria:

a) Population of atleast 5000 persons.

b) Minimum population density of 400 persons per sq. km. and

c) 75 per cent of the male workforce is employed in non-agricultural activities

3. In 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs decided to push the deadline for all 100 cities to June 2023. The deadline was further pushed to June 30, 2024 and then to March 31, 2025.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements with regard to the Global Liveability Index 2025:

1. It is released by the World Economic Forum.

2. Copenhagen is the world’s most liveable city in 2025.

3. Damascus is the least liveable city in the world.

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How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(d) None

Answer Key

(b)

(Sources: World’s top 10 most and least liveable cities in 2025, 7 % projects to continue as Smart Cities Mission set to end March 31,eiu.com)

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Roshni Yadav

Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. She has over five years of work experience in ed-tech and media. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. Her interests lie in national and international affairs, governance, economy, and social issues. You can contact her via email: roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com ... Read More

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