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Forbes
21-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Explore The Happiest Cities For Living And Travel, Per New Study
Berlin is one of the happiest cities in the world, as per the Happy City Index 2025 What makes a city truly happy? The world's happiest cities excel in creating environments where residents thrive and visitors are enchanted. A good city undoubtedly offers an affordable lifestyle for its residents, in terms of accessible housing and good jobs, but it's also a lot more. A city that makes its residents happy provides for its citizens in terms of its services and protects its people in environmental, economic, and social senses. A good city for a five-year-old with great playgrounds is different for a working adult who may want accessible and efficient public transport to get home from work and, yet again, for a retiree. The world's happiest cities can do all this and more. Plus, with excellent services and happy residents, they're great places to visit as travelers. The Institute for Quality of Life measures the world's happiest cities under a project organised by the Happy City Hub. The project researches various aspects of quality of life, centered around six major themes—citizens, governance, environment, economy, health, and mobility. Its tagline is from Plato, 'This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.' Within these themes, the project studies many health indicators, such as nutrition and mental health. In the economy, it looks at factors such as unemployment, cost of living, earnings, GDP, and maternity and paternity leave allowances. It studies indicators such as pollution, recycling, and green spaces in the environment. In governance, data such as voting participation and accessibility of e-payments and e-services are analyzed. For mobility, it looks at public transport networks and road traffic accidents. And for citizens, it assesses educational factors, access to affordable housing, access to culture, and inclusive services such as support for older people or people with disabilities. Indeed, all the things about a city that, when combined, make its residents very happy. As the project says, "There is no single perfect place to live that guarantees happiness for all its residents," but there are factors that make a difference. The project has identified three different levels of cities globally. There are 31 gold standard cities, where cities track their progress against clear benchmarks. These cities have measurable indicators, and the figures allow meaningful comparisons with other places around the world, and the impact of their social policies is undeniably visible. Many of these 31 gold cities are some of the most visited cities in the world. Think Paris, Berlin, New York, Barcelona, Dublin, and London. These cities were recently featured as some of the smartest cities in the world on the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2025, and cities with the best work-life balance, like Dublin, Brussels, and Copenhagen. However, many of these 31 countries are in Northern Europe and regularly appear on indexes of countries with a high self-reported happiness level by their residents. The UN's World's Happiest Countries in 2025 appear on this list in some of its cities. Finland is first on that list, and Helsinki is in 14th place. Denmark is the second-highest happiest country, and Copenhagen topped the world's happiest cities. Aarhus in Denmark is in 4th place, Reykjavik in Iceland is in 27th place, Stockholm in Sweden is in 7th place, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands is in 10th place. These places feature in many of the best places to visit in 2024 or 2025. Zurich, the second happiest city on the list, is loved for its progressive culture, with a dynamic music and art scene and architectural landmarks by Le Corbusier and Santiago Calatrava. Antwerp, at number four, is rapidly becoming what industry insiders call a 'destination dupe' for Paris; places that travelers head to to avoid the overcrowding of summer crowds and because it offers many of Paris' charms—although Paris is also 13th on the list. France remains the most visited country in the world. Berlin, number 16 on the happiest cities in the world, was named by Time Out as one of the 50 Best Cities for its famed nightlife, plethora of positive liveability aspects, and thriving organic wine and restaurant scene. The world's happiest cities are more than just places to live—they're destinations that inspire and delight travelers. With their focus on well-being, sustainability, and inclusivity, these cities set the standard for urban happiness and make them unforgettable travel destinations. This is the 6th edition of the Happy City Index, with these cities ranked as the 200 happiest cities in the world:
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Travel + Leisure
10-05-2025
- General
- Travel + Leisure
This Is the Happiest City in Asia—and It Has One of the Best Airports in the World
Singapore was named the happiest city in East Asia in the Institute for Quality of Life's Happy City Index report. The city-state scored high marks in economic prosperity, government transparency, and quality education. Lion City is also known for its thriving food scene, wide selection of luxury hotels, and vibrant local culture. "Happiness" is a pretty subjective term. What makes me happy (my dog, a warm beach day, and a big bowl of pasta) may not bring the same joy to you. But a few universal truths seem to spark bliss in people regardless of their personal preferences: Access to healthcare, education, green spaces, and a supportive community, to name a few. And, as it turns out, some places cater to happiness a bit better than others. And the Institute for Quality of Life knows exactly where they are. Each year, the institute releases its Happy City Index, which recognizes "a group of cities committed to cultivating and growing happiness, where education, inclusive policies, the economy, mobility, environmental protection, access to green areas, and innovation are not only important components of official policies but are also evident in the solutions implemented." It added that these solutions "should be tangible for residents and have a direct impact on their quality of life." And while the index doesn't technically rank the cities in its list, it does hand out "gold," "silver," and "bronze" designations for cities that performed the best. The list, its methodology explained, is based on 82 "indicators of joy," which include factors such as access to education, each city's inclusive policies, the strength of their local economies, environmental regulations, access to green spaces, and work-life balance. After crunching all the numbers, it named Singapore as the happiest city in Asia, and the third highest ranking in the world. "Singapore, a city-state unlike any other, stands as a global beacon of economic prosperity, governance, and urban innovation," the organization said in its report. "Home to over 6 million residents, the entire nation is encapsulated within a single, thriving metropolis that spans 734.3 square kilometers. With a staggering budget of [$74.8 billion] in 2024, Singapore continues to push the boundaries of what a modern city can achieve." Of course, being rich doesn't mean you're happy necessarily. However, Singapore ensures this in other ways, with its "world-renowned universities," government transparency, which includes a "comprehensive open data platform, making 8,086 datasets available for public access," and fantastic healthcare access. "With universal medical insurance and 2.8 doctors per 1,000 residents, healthcare is both accessible and efficient," the report stated. This helps ensure a rather high life expectancy for residents, who, on average, hit 83 years. Lion City, of course, is known for its vibrant culture. Home to about 5.9 million people, Singapore has a rich food culture that's been influenced by communities all over the continent, a thriving luxury hotel scene, and one of the nicest airports in the world. Not only is it a nice place to live, but it's also a favorite destination among travelers to Asia. But despite welcoming over 16.5 million people in 2024, it boasts a reputation as one of the cleanest cities in the world. Singapore is joined at the top of the rankings by Copenhagen, which scored the highest total points thanks to its universal health care coverage, its high number of top-ranked universities, and its commitment to the environment. According to the index, Copenhagen is "a leader in green transportation, [where] 69% of all travel in the city is environmentally friendly." As for other super happy places, Zurich, Switzerland, scored the second-highest total, while Aarhus, Denmark, and Antwerp, Belgium, scored the fourth and fifth-highest, respectively. A number of U.S. cities also made the list, with New York City and Minneapolis earning gold designations. San Diego; Washington, D.C.; Salt Lake City; Columbus, Ohio; Los Angeles; Seattle; Baltimore; San Antonio, Texas;and Nashville earned silver recognition. You can find the full list of happy cities at the Institute for Quality of Life's website.
