Why in news?
The Global Liveability Index 2026 assessed living conditions across 173 selected cities. Copenhagen ranked first, while New Delhi stood at 120 and Mumbai at 121. Damascus remained the lowest-ranked city.
Background
The Economist Intelligence Unit publishes the annual Global Liveability Index. It is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group.
The index began as a tool for comparing hardship allowances, and companies use such allowances when relocating employees between cities.
It now provides a broader snapshot of urban living conditions. The index does not cover every city in the world.
How does the index work?
The index evaluates 173 selected cities through 30 indicators, and each city receives an overall score between one and 100.
A higher score indicates better measured liveability, and the indicators are grouped into five weighted categories.
- Stability carries 25 per cent and covers crime, conflict and security threats.
- Healthcare carries 20 per cent and measures the availability and quality of medical services.
- Culture and environment carry 25 per cent and include climate, restrictions, recreation and social conditions.
- Education carries 10 per cent and examines access to public and private schooling.
- Infrastructure carries 20 per cent and covers housing, transport, water, energy and communications.
Analysts combine numerical data with expert judgments. Scores therefore reflect the index’s method, not one universal definition of a good city.
What were the leading cities?
- Copenhagen ranked first.
- Vienna ranked second.
- Melbourne ranked third.
Copenhagen retained the top position for a second year, and strong infrastructure, stability and public services supported its performance.
The global average score remained unchanged at 76.1, and average healthcare performance improved by 0.74 points.
How did Indian cities perform?
- New Delhi ranked 120 among 173 cities.
- Mumbai ranked 121.
- Chennai ranked 123.
- Bengaluru ranked 127.
New Delhi and Mumbai retained their previous-year positions, and their rankings reflect combined performance across all five categories.
Ranking clarification: The index covers 173 cities, not 173 countries, and New Delhi’s rank is therefore a city rank.
Why did Damascus remain last?
Damascus continued at the bottom because conflict severely affected stability, infrastructure and public services. Prolonged insecurity lowered several category scores.
A low rank does not measure citizens’ worth or culture, and it reflects difficult urban conditions under the selected indicators.
What does the index not measure?
- It is not a cost-of-living index.
- It is not a happiness or life-satisfaction survey.
- It does not rank national economic strength.
- It does not assess every neighbourhood within a city.
- It does not include every world city.
A city may be liveable but expensive, and another may be affordable but weaker in healthcare or infrastructure.
Why should rankings be read carefully?
City averages can hide deep inequality, and wealthy and poor residents may experience the same city very differently.
Indicator weights also influence the final order, and changing those weights could change some rankings.
Sudden conflict, disasters or policy changes may alter scores quickly, and rankings should therefore support analysis, not replace local evidence.
Conclusion
The 2026 index compares urban conditions through one consistent framework. Indian cities can use its category scores to identify service and infrastructure gaps.