When a brand new place begins to really feel like residence, even the most nomadic globe-trotters and spontaneous jet-setters might take into account planting roots. But relying on life-style decisions and each day routines, the greatest locations to stay can range broadly. So how ought to potential travellers-turned-residents resolve the place in the world to quiet down?
Fortunately, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has quantified the course of with its annual Global Liveability Index. The examine ranks 173 cities throughout 30 indicators in 5 classes: stability, healthcare, tradition and surroundings, training, and infrastructure.
According to the newest iteration of the report, which is based mostly on a survey the geopolitical knowledge firm carried out in May 2026, the common livability rating throughout all cities is 76.1. That quantity is the similar as 2025’s rating, regardless of main world shifts over the previous 12 months. Conflicts like the Iran war, plus the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, all led to a diminished common stability score. But good points throughout the world in the healthcare class offset the volatility to maintain the general common regular.
So, which cities are the most livable in 2026? The prime 10 rankings are unfold throughout a number of world areas, together with locales in Asia, Oceania, Europe, and North America. Once once more, no UK cities made it onto the worldwide prime 10 rankings.
The report says that Western Europe is the strongest area for livability, with an general rating of 91.7. However, it’s Australia that makes the largest exhibiting on this 12 months’s index, with a complete of three cities rating amongst the prime 10. Across Asian cities, scores rose by a mean of 0.3 factors to an general score of 73.9, making it the most improved area this 12 months.
Counting down, listed here are the 10 greatest locations to stay in the world in 2026, according to the EIU’s Global Liveability Index.
This gallery has been up to date with new info since its unique publication date.
10. Tokyo, Japan
Overall score: 96
Stability: 100
Healthcare: 100
Culture and Environment: 89
Education: 100
A newcomer to the prime 10 record, Tokyo’s liveability rating has seen a major increase in 2026, rising three ranks to make it into the index’s higher echelon. The steep ascent is thanks to the next score in the tradition and surroundings class. So far this 12 months, the Japanese capital has accomplished main initiatives geared towards including much more cultural clout to the vibrant metropolis. Large-scale initiatives embody the renovation of the iconic Edo-Tokyo Museum, which took 4 years to refresh, and the opening of Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, the place artists throughout any medium might be showcased inside its mystical spiral-shaped partitions. Notably for 2026, Tokyo additionally garnered one in all the highest stability scores on the record: an ideal 100 that accompanies two different 100s in training and healthcare.
9. Vancouver, Canada
Overall score: 96
Stability: 95
Healthcare: 96
Culture and surroundings: 97
Education: 100
This 12 months, Vancouver barely improved its rating in contrast to 2025, when it was listed as the tenth most livable city. In 2026, this coastal city in British Columbia clocks in at ninth place and is nonetheless the solely vacation spot in North America to make the world prime 10 record. Aside from its excellent rating in training and its excessive marks in healthcare, Vancouver has the highest tradition and surroundings score of any city in the prime 10. It’s not onerous to see why, as Vancouver incorporates its gorgeous Pacific Northwest nature into the cityscape, with easy-to-access out of doors points of interest like sweeping Stanley Park and the teetering Capilano Suspension Bridge. Those wanting to get out and about have numerous alternatives for actions year-round, like mountaineering, whale-watching, mountain biking, and snowshoeing.