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Think London and New York are where it’s at? Think again. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has just dropped its 2026 Global Liveability Index, and three Australian cities were named in the top ten – more than any other country on Earth.
Earlier this year, Time Out published its own annual ranking of the world’s best cities – which saw Melbourne take the #1 spot for the very first time. While our list is built entirely on responses from thousands of locals around the world, the EIU’s Global Liveability Index dives deep into the hard data. It scores 173 cities across 30 indicators grouped into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure, with the aim of showing how comfortable each place is to live in.
So, who took out the global title for 2026? Copenhagen has been named the most liveable city on the planet for the second year running, having bumped Vienna into second place in 2025. The Danish capital scored an overall 98 out of 100, earning perfect marks in three of the index's five categories: stability, education and infrastructure.
After taking the top spot in Time Out’s very own best cities ranking for 2026, Melbourne has climbed the ranks to secure the global bronze on the EIU’s liveability index. It shared an overall total of 97 out of 100 with Vienna, which is far above the global average liveability score of 76.1.
While its infrastructure score of 96 trailed Vienna by four points, Melbourne trumped the Austrian capital in the culture and environment category. That win won't surprise anyone familiar with the eclectic arts scene that is core to Melbourne's DNA. Roam the city any night of the week, and you’re bound to stumble upon basement comedy gigs, indie theatre, late-night gallery pop-ups and everything in between.
While Sydney may have landed just behind in fourth place, the Harbour City deserves serious kudos for having risen the ranks from sixth in 2025. It went toe-to-toe with Melbourne, locking in identical scores across every category except culture and environment, where it fell short by two points (94).
Adelaide was the third and final Aussie capital to crack the top ten, overtaking Auckland to claim the title as the eighth most liveable city on Earth. Anyone who still thinks of it as just a sleepy church town clearly hasn't been paying attention.
You can check out the full Global Liveability Index report here.
The 10 most liveable cities in the world for 2026
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Vienna, Austria
- Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Osaka, Japan
- Adelaide, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Tokyo, Japan
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