Quality of life is an important metric to consider when ranking the world’s best cities. But what exactly is quality of life, and how can you assess it?
Well, anything from the walkability of your city to how good it smells can impact your quality of life, but the brand-new Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index for 2024 has taken a look at six important indicators: life expectancy, income per person, income equality, recreation and cultural sites, internet speed and housing expenditure.
Ranking as the city with the best quality of life score is Grenoble in France. The ‘capital of the Alps’ scored an impressive 100 out of 100, and is known for being a popular hiking destination as well as a hub for scientific research.
In second place, and the only non-European entry is Canberra, the Aussie capital, and Switzerland claims not just third place with Bern, but also fifth with Basel and eighth with Zurich (which is coincidentally the best scoring city in the world when it comes to tech, services and infrastructure).
These are the 10 best cities in the world for quality of life
- Grenoble, France
- Canberra, Australia
- Bern, Switzerland
- Bergen, Norway
- Basel, Switzerland
- Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Gent, Belgium
- Nantes, France
The index also ranks the world’s top cities on economics, human capital, environment and governance. To read about the study in more detail, you can do so here.
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