Zurich falls 3 spots in ranking of the most liveable cities in the world 2026

The largest city in Switzerland, Zurich, has fallen in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) 2026 ranking of the world's most livable cities. Both Geneva and Zurich remain in the top 10, making them two of the best cities to live in Switzerland.

How the EIU liveability ranking works

The Global Liveability Index is an annual ranking of cities around the world that provide the best living conditions, scoring them on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. 

These scores are then compiled and weighted to give an overall score out of 100. A score between 80 and 100 indicates that the city comes with few, if any, challenges to living standards. 

This year, the average liveability score across the 173 cities featured in the index was the same as in 2024 and in 2025: 76,1 out of 100. 

Copenhagen continues to reign as the most liveable city in the world, followed again in second place by Vienna. Western Europe is the most favourable region when it comes to liveability, but average scores stagnated this year, whereas scores in Asia rose.

Zurich and Geneva remain in the top 10

Zurich, an expat hub praised for its safety, nature and job opportunities, has dropped three places from second to fifth most liveable city in the world. The financial hub was overtaken in the ranking by Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney. Geneva also managed to maintain a strong position in the top 10, ranking sixth.

Zurich scored lowest for culture and environment, perhaps unsurprisingly, as expats recently called out the country’s unfriendliness as a major downside to living in Switzerland.

The city excelled when it came to healthcare and education, scoring 100, and only marginally lower on infrastructure with a score of 96. Geneva fared similarly well, with its lowest score of 94 for culture and environment. 

The world’s most liveable cities in 2026

According to the EIU, the top-ranked cities in the world for 2026 are:

• 1. Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2. Vienna, Austria
• 3. Melbourne, Australia
• 4. Sydney, Australia
• 5. Zurich, Switzerland
• 6. Geneva, Switzerland
• 7. Osaka, Japan
• 8. Adelaide, Australia
• 9. Vancouver, Canada
• 10. Tokyo, Japan

You can read the full report on the EIU website.