Vancouver Ranks 9th in the World's Most Livable Cities for 2026 — The Only North American Entry

Key Takeaways

• Vancouver ranked ninth in the EIU's 2026 Global Liveability Index — the only North American city in the top 10, for a second straight year.
• Its overall score rose to 96 from 95.8, lifting it from 10th to 9th among 173 cities.
• Vancouver holds a perfect 100/100 in education, though it still trails its 2024 seventh-place finish.

Vancouver, British Columbia, has again landed among the world's 10 most livable cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) 2026 Global Liveability Index — the sole North American entry in the top 10 for the second consecutive year. Released on July 7, the index assessed 173 cities on quality of life across five categories, weighing factors such as stability, healthcare and education.

The global picture

Europe claims the largest share of the top 10 with four cities, while the remainder are spread across Oceania, Asia and North America. This year's list closely mirrors 2025's, with one notable change: Tokyo, Japan, joined the top 10 while Auckland, New Zealand, dropped out. At the other end, the EIU notes that the bottom 10 cities have "nearly all been affected by war or poverty," including Tehran (Iran), Kyiv (Ukraine), Karachi (Pakistan) and Tripoli (Libya), with Damascus (Syria) ranked last.

Where Vancouver stands

Vancouver climbed one spot from 2025, moving from 10th to 9th, as its overall livability score edged up from 95.8 to 96. Several category scores shifted:

The city keeps its perfect 100/100 in education and still ranks above Copenhagen in culture and environment, despite a slight dip there. Even so, Vancouver remains below its 2024 seventh-place finish, when it trailed Calgary, Alberta, which placed fifth that year. Historically, Vancouver held the number-one spot for roughly a decade between 2002 and 2010 before gradually easing down the table, though it has usually stayed within the top 10.

How the index is scored

The EIU rated 173 cities using 30 indicators spread evenly across five categories. Indicators are weighted within each category to yield a score from 1 (intolerable) to 100 (ideal), and category scores are then combined into an overall figure out of 100, grouped as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. The category weights are:

• Stability (25%): petty and violent crime, threat of terror, military conflict, and civil unrest.
• Healthcare (20%): availability and quality of public and private care, over-the-counter drugs, and World Bank-adapted indicators.
• Culture and environment (25%): climate, corruption and censorship, social or religious restrictions, sport and culture, food and drink, and consumer goods and services.
• Education (10%): availability and quality of private education, plus World Bank-adapted public-education indicators.
• Infrastructure (20%): roads, public transit, international links, energy and water, telecommunications, and quality housing.

What This Means for Applicants: For newcomers choosing a Canadian destination, Vancouver's ranking reflects strengths that matter day to day — top-tier healthcare, education and stability. The same index is a reminder of the city's well-known trade-off: livability comes alongside some of the country's highest housing costs, so arriving families may want to weigh Vancouver's quality-of-life scores against affordability and job prospects elsewhere in Canada.