Zurich Plummets in City Rankings—Copenhagen Remains at the Top

Here's what it's all about

• In the top ten of the Global Liveability Index, the two Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva continue to slip in the rankings, now in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
• The Danish capital, Copenhagen, has secured the top spot for the second year in a row.
• Cities in the Middle East are struggling due to the security situation. China, on the other hand, is gaining ground, primarily due to improvements in health care.

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The Global Liveability Index, published annually by the British magazine *The Economist*, ranks the quality of life in cities around the world. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva are consistently among the top-ranked.

In fact, over the past two years, the city on the Limmat even second place – but that’s now a thing of the past. In this year’s ranking, it only managed to come in fifth. Geneva follows close behind in sixth place. “Both Swiss cities saw their scores decline in the areas of culture and environment,” writes The Economist.

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Darum fallen Zürich und Genf im Städteranking aus den Top 5

The Danish capital, on the other hand, has secured first place for the second year in a row. Copenhagen scored a perfect score in the three categories of stability, education, and infrastructure, and 95 points in the categories of healthcare and culture.

For the index, *The Economist* evaluates 173 cities based on a total of 30 indicators, divided into five categories: infrastructure, stability, healthcare, education, and culture and the environment.

European Cities Continue to Lead the Way

Western Europe remains the region with the highest quality of life, but its average score has recently stagnated, while Asia’s has risen. The top 20 now includes nine Asian and seven European cities. China, in particular, has made significant gains, largely due to improved healthcare.

Although the Australian metropolis of Sydney has retained the same score as last year, it has moved up to 4th place due to its competitors' poorer performance.

Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, ranks third, just ahead of Sydney, thereby knocking Zurich off the podium.

The Austrian capital, Vienna, has regained second place.

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War with Iran Has a Massive Impact on the Ranking

With 97.1 points in the overall standings, the Austrian capital, Vienna, has regained second place.

In contrast, cities in the Middle East have plummeted in the rankings, mainly due to the war in Iran. On average, the 18 cities in the region have fallen by more than three places. Muscat, Oman, and Kuwait City, for example, have slipped by 14 and 12 places, respectively.