According to the annual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Copenhagen has been named the best city to live in for 2025, taking the top spot from Vienna, which had held it for three consecutive years. The ranking is based on factors including healthcare, education, stability, infrastructure, and environment. Copenhagen received perfect scores in stability, education, and infrastructure categories. Vienna retained second place, shared with Zurich, but dropped due to a lower stability score attributed to recent incidents, including a bomb threat at a Taylor Swift concert. Other cities in the top 10 include Melbourne, Geneva, Sydney, Osaka, Auckland, Adelaide, and Vancouver. The global quality of life remained largely unchanged, but stability declined globally. Canadian cities fell in the rankings due to pressures on the healthcare system, while British cities dropped due to lower stability scores. Damascus was ranked as the least livable city, just above Tripoli, Dhaka, Karachi, and Algiers.
Political Perspectives:
Left: Left-leaning sources emphasize the social factors contributing to the rankings, such as healthcare quality, education, and social stability. They highlight the challenges faced by cities like Vienna and Canadian cities due to systemic issues in healthcare and social infrastructure. The narrative often focuses on the need for investment in public services and social welfare to improve quality of life.
Center: Center-leaning sources provide a balanced overview of the rankings, focusing on the methodology of the EIU report and the objective criteria used, such as healthcare, education, stability, and infrastructure. They report the changes in rankings factually, noting the impact of recent incidents on Vienna’s stability score and the pressures on healthcare systems in Canada and the UK without strong editorializing.
Right: Right-leaning sources tend to emphasize the stability and security aspects of the rankings, pointing to recent incidents in Vienna as a sign of declining public order. They may also highlight the economic implications of the rankings, such as the cost of living and business environment in top cities like Copenhagen. The narrative sometimes critiques government policies that are seen as contributing to instability or strain on public services.
