One European city has been named as the best place to live in the world.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Index 2024 ranks cities worldwide according to stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, with Austria’s capital city of Vienna coming in top.

This is the eighth time that Vienna’s finished in first place in the last ten years, losing out in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions but winning in the years both prior to and following this.

Vienna wound up with a score of 98.4 out of a possible 100 and received perfect scores in stability, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

The Austrian capital then received a score of 93.5 for culture and environment.

As of 2024, there were 2.015 million people making the most of Vienna’s livability, and the city also welcomed an estimated 8.2 million foreign tourists during the same year.

The city’s attractions include the historic Schönbrunn Palace, the stunning St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hofburg, which was once the centre of the Habsburg empire and is now home to the world-famous Spanish Riding School.

Vienna also has a thriving arts and culture scene. More than 450 balls take place during the ball season, which reaches its zenith in January and February.

However, the EIU marked the city down in this category (the only one in which it didn’t get a perfect 100/100) because, unlike some of the others on the list, it doesn’t typically host many sporting events.

Closely behind Vienna was Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, with a score of 98 – and even beat Vienna for culture and environment, where it scored 95.4.

Europe took all of the top three, with third place going to Zurich in Switzerland. Other countries included on the list were Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

2024’s best cities to live in:

1. Vienna, Austria (98.4/100)
2. Copenhagen, Denmark (98/100)
3. Zurich, Switzerland (97.1/100)
4. Melbourne, Australia (97/100)
5. Calgary, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland (96.8/100)
6. Sydney, Australia and Vancouver, Canada (96.6/100)
7. Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand (96/100)