The World's Happiest, Wealthiest, Smartest Places As Per New Reports

Forbes

14-04-2025

Lake Matheson, New Zealand—it tops work-life balance reports and has a new long-term digital nomad visa program
If you're considering moving and wondering where to go, several new reports can help you decide. Some reports analyze the wealthiest and smartest cities; some look at the happiest countries in the world and those with the best work-life balance. Here's a rundown of the world's happiest, wealthiest, smartest places, as per recent reports by the United Nations, among others.
Some very fortunate destinations might fit into more than one of these benchmarks. For example, Germany ranks 22nd in terms of happiness, and Berlin ranks 5th as a smart city and is in the top ten for work-life balance.
Still in Europe, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands all appear in the top ten for work-life balance and in the top five for happiness in the UN's Happiness Report. Oslo and Copenhagen are in the top ten for Smart Cities.
New Zealand has high self-reported happiness among its residents (12th place) and comes first for work-life balance. New Zealand recently launched its long-term working visa program and relaxed rules for its golden passport program, making it far easier for Americans to live and work there.
The world's wealthiest cities, as per Henley&Partners World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, place four U.S. cities in the top ten.
New York is at the top, with almost 400,000 millionaires and 66 billionaires. The top four wealthiest cities after are the Bay Area, Tokyo, Singapore, and Los Angeles. In 6th place, London has 215,700 millionaires and 33 billionaires compared to Paris' 22. Hong Kong, Sydney, and Chicago round out the top ten.
You may be looking for somewhere that is as smart as much as wealthy.
IESE Cities in Motion Index 2025 assesses 183 cities in 92 countries worldwide in nine key areas: economic performance, technology, environment, international profile and quality of human capital, governance, urban planning and transportation, and social cohesion.
Five of the top 10 cities are European: London (1st), Paris (3rd), Berlin (5th), Copenhagen (7th) and Oslo (8th). Three are in the United States: New York (2nd), Washington (6th), and San Francisco (10th). Tokyo comes in 4th in the ranking, and Singapore 9th. London ranks first for human capital and international profile but came 20th in social cohesion, 34th in environment, and 37th in technology.
New York leads in economy, is second for international profile, and performs strongly in human capital (4th), urban planning (5th), and mobility & transportation (3rd). It struggles with social cohesion (127th) and environment (100th). The report states that this contrast "reflects a broader trend among U.S. cities, which dominate in economic strength but score poorly in social cohesion and environmental sustainability."
The report is in its third year and ranks Edinburgh highly in social cohesion due to its efforts to leverage technology for the benefit of its citizens by taking steps to reduce the digital divide. Reykjavik ranks highly in environment, Bern in governance, Tokyo in urban planning, Hong Kong in technology, and Beijing in mobility and transportation.
If you think all that's great, but you still want to make sure you've got the work-life balance sorted, then take a look at the 2024 Global Work-Life Balance Index from HR-tech company Remote, which accounts for factors such as statutory annual leave, sick pay percentage, and parental leave in countries around the world.
Wellington, New Zealand, came first for its 32 days of annual statutory leave, plus other attributes such as its universal healthcare, something many of these top ten countries offer. Dublin, Brussels, Copenhagen, and Ottawa round out the top five. Berlin, Helsinki in Finland, Canberra in Australia, Oslo in Norway, and Madrid made the top ten. Unsurprisingly, these countries rank well on the Global Safety Index, and in terms of minimum wage, childcare benefits, and LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace.
You may want to consider the world's happiest countries before you set out. March 20 was International Day of Happiness, and when the United Nations released its annual World Happiness Report.
The United Nations measures 147 countries' happiness on several benchmarks, and the 2025 report focused on benevolence. It found that benevolent acts in society increased during the pandemic and have maintained that bump, leaving many societies 10% kinder to each other than pre-pandemic levels.
As per UN data, Finland is the world's happiest country, followed by its European neighbors Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. These countries generally find high levels of self-reported happiness. New Zealand came 12th, Ireland 15th, Canada 18th, and Germany 22nd. The U.K. and the U.S. came in 23rd and 24th place, respectively. France came 33rd.
Since 2012, the happiness ranking of the U.S. has stayed the same or dropped, and it is now at its lowest level since the study began. As per CNTraveler, the U.S. is one of the countries where 'deaths of despair' (death by suicide or substance abuse) remain high and continue to rise.
Finally, maybe you want to think about the weather. For anyone looking for the sunniest cities in Europe, holiday company Holidu says that the top five are all in Spain (Cartagena, Alicante, Malaga, Murcia, and Granada, with all of them receiving more than 273 hours of sunshine every month). For France, Marseille and Nice came in the top 15.
So, when choosing a new place to live or visit long-term, it pays to look beyond just wealth. Cities like Berlin, Oslo, and Copenhagen score highly across smart infrastructure, quality of life, and happiness. Countries like New Zealand and Finland also perform consistently well, balancing economic opportunity with social well-being and generous work-life policies. Several destinations emerge as all-rounders—combining prosperity, innovation, and kindness.