Results Announcement Ceremony
The 6th edition of the Happy City Index has been officially announced at the UK Parliament in London, marking the culmination of the largest community-driven study of urban development in the world. The event took place at the seat of the British Parliament thanks to the generosity, support and continued engagement of Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, who has consistently championed the idea of sustainable urban development with a clear focus on the happiness and well-being of residents.
Covering 251 cities and based on 64 indicators across six dimensions, the Index highlights cities that combine quality of life, sustainability and long-term development strategies. The 2026 edition also introduces the Happy City Alliance, a new framework for cooperation and shared learning among leading cities.
The 2026 Happy City Index results
The results of the 6th edition of the Happy City Index were officially announced in London at the UK Parliament, marking the culmination of the world’s largest community-driven study on urban development. This year’s edition brings together extensive international research, a shared methodological framework, and a continued focus on the quality of life of present and future generations.
A global benchmark for balanced urban development
The GOLD group brings together the top 50 cities in the Happy City Index 2026. This distinction recognises cities that demonstrate a consistently high standard of performance across the six dimensions of the Index: Citizens, Governance, Environment, Economy, Health and Mobility.
The Index is not designed to declare a single “best city” in the world. Instead, it identifies cities that combine good governance, sustainability, resilience and quality of life in a way that offers a more balanced picture of urban development.
A rigorous and community-driven research effort
The 2026 edition reflects a substantial international collaboration. Over a five-month period, researchers gathered and verified a large body of comparable information using a unified methodology based on 64 indicators.
From an initial pool of more than 3,400 cities worldwide, nearly 1,000 cities were selected for deeper analysis. This approach allows the study to move beyond surface-level comparisons and focus instead on long-term, evidence-based urban performance.
More than a ranking: a platform for shared learning
Alongside the publication of this year’s results, the initiative also marks the launch of the Happy City Alliance, a new programme intended to follow progress over time and encourage the exchange of good practice among leading cities.
The Alliance is conceived not simply as a recognition platform, but as a practical framework for dialogue, collaboration and policy learning. It brings together invited cities from the GOLD group, alongside additional cities selected through a global process of researcher nomination and voting, reflecting a shared commitment to residents’ well-being and sustainable urban development.
This year’s edition also includes a symbolic gesture of solidarity. While the formal ranking covers 250 cities, the 251st place has been assigned to Kyiv without scoring or comparison, as a mark of respect for the efforts of Ukrainian city authorities under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
#2026 Happy City Index GOLD CITIES
The table below presents the ranked cities, countries and total points.
| Rank | City | Country | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 6954 |
| 2 | Helsinki | Finland | 6919 |
| 3 | Geneva | Switzerland | 6882 |
| 4 | Uppsala | Sweden | 6846 |
| 5 | Tokyo | Japan | 6788 |
| 6 | Trondheim | Norway | 6755 |
| 7 | Bern | Switzerland | 6746 |
| 8 | Malmö | Sweden | 6705 |
| 9 | Munich | Germany | 6691 |
| 10 | Aarhus | Denmark | 6685 |
| 11 | Zurich | Switzerland | 6683 |
| 12 | Barcelona | Spain | 6668 |
| 13 | Espoo | Finland | 6668 |
| 14 | Oslo | Norway | 6623 |
| 15 | The Hague | Netherlands | 6563 |
| 16 | Ballarat | Australia | 6546 |
| 17 | Aalborg | Denmark | 6538 |
| 18 | Yokohama | Japan | 6526 |
| 19 | Lugano | Switzerland | 6521 |
| 20 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 6514 |
| 21 | Jönköping | Sweden | 6514 |
| 22 | Singapore | Singapore | 6504 |
| 23 | Grenoble | France | 6502 |
| 24 | Stuttgart | Germany | 6502 |
| 25 | Paris | France | 6493 |
| 26 | Seoul | South Korea | 6487 |
| 27 | Bremen | Germany | 6482 |
| 28 | Stockholm | Sweden | 6479 |
| 29 | Leiden | Netherlands | 6477 |
| 30 | Antwerp | Belgium | 6475 |
| 31 | Bergen | Norway | 6473 |
| 32 | Warsaw | Poland | 6473 |
| 33 | Vienna | Austria | 6461 |
| 34 | Nijmegen | Netherlands | 6459 |
| 35 | Maitland | Australia | 6453 |
| 36 | Berlin | Germany | 6435 |
| 37 | Stavanger | Norway | 6432 |
| 38 | Gothenburg | Sweden | 6427 |
| 39 | Vancouver | Canada | 6426 |
| 40 | Klagenfurt am Wörthersee | Austria | 6420 |
| 41 | Turku | Finland | 6411 |
| 42 | Ghent | Belgium | 6408 |
| 43 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 6402 |
| 44 | New Taipei City | Taiwan | 6400 |
| 45 | San Francisco | United States | 6395 |
| 46 | Taipei City | Taiwan | 6383 |
| 47 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 6379 |
| 48 | London | United Kingdom | 6366 |
| 49 | Incheon | South Korea | 6362 |
| 50 | Cambridge | United Kingdom | 6358 |
#2026 Happy City Index
The table below presents the ranked cities, countries and total points.
| Rank | City | Country | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Odense | Denmark | 6356 |
| 52 | Nagoya | Japan | 6352 |
| 53 | Essen | Germany | 6350 |
| 54 | Bruges | Belgium | 6348 |
| 55 | Roskilde | Denmark | 6346 |
| 56 | Norrköping | Sweden | 6342 |
| 57 | Sopot | Poland | 6338 |
| 58 | Hachioji | Japan | 6336 |
| 59 | Wrocław | Poland | 6330 |
| 60 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | 6320 |
| 61 | Winterthur | Switzerland | 6315 |
| 62 | Delft | Netherlands | 6313 |
| 63 | Frankfurt am Main | Germany | 6312 |
| 64 | Zaragoza | Spain | 6303 |
| 65 | Drammen | Norway | 6297 |
| 66 | Hamburg | Germany | 6295 |
| 67 | Västerås | Sweden | 6287 |
| 68 | Aachen | Germany | 6281 |
| 69 | Maia | Portugal | 6273 |
| 70 | Bordeaux | France | 6270 |
| 71 | Adelaide | Australia | 6269 |
| 72 | Prague | Czechia | 6263 |
| 73 | Bologna | Italy | 6258 |
| 74 | Calgary | Canada | 6258 |
| 75 | Bonn | Germany | 6253 |
| 76 | Bilbao | Spain | 6237 |
| 77 | Parma | Italy | 6232 |
| 78 | Brussels | Belgium | 6221 |
| 79 | Hannover | Germany | 6199 |
| 80 | Milan | Italy | 6183 |
| 81 | Groningen | Netherlands | 6181 |
| 82 | Cracow | Poland | 6179 |
| 83 | Gdańsk | Poland | 6168 |
| 84 | Leverkusen | Germany | 6168 |
| 85 | Sejong | South Korea | 6160 |
| 86 | Maastricht | Netherlands | 6153 |
| 87 | Gdynia | Poland | 6146 |
| 88 | Valencia | Spain | 6145 |
| 89 | Lucerne | Switzerland | 6139 |
| 90 | Jyväskylä | Finland | 6136 |
| 91 | Zoetermeer | Netherlands | 6130 |
| 92 | Tallinn | Estonia | 6121 |
| 93 | Augsburg | Germany | 6120 |
| 94 | Branuschwaig | Germany | 6119 |
| 95 | Christchurch | New Zealand | 6089 |
| 96 | Sapporo | Japan | 6081 |
| 97 | Linz | Austria | 6077 |
| 98 | Quebec | Canada | 6075 |
| 99 | Toulouse | France | 6067 |
| 100 | Duisburg | Germany | 6063 |
| 101 | Bristol | United Kingdom | 6061 |
| 102 | Toronto | Canada | 6060 |
| 103 | Daejeon | South Korea | 6041 |
| 104 | Auckland | New Zealand | 6037 |
| 105 | Ottawa | Canada | 6033 |
| 106 | Montreal | Canada | 6031 |
| 107 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 6028 |
| 108 | Melbourne | Australia | 6016 |
| 109 | Kitchener | Canada | 6015 |
| 110 | Brno | Czechia | 6008 |
| 111 | Matosinhos | Portugal | 6006 |
| 112 | Southampton | United Kingdom | 6004 |
| 113 | Kyoto | Japan | 6001 |
| 114 | Odivelas | Portugal | 6000 |
| 115 | Strasbourg | France | 5999 |
| 116 | Okayama | Japan | 5996 |
| 117 | Mannheim | Germany | 5988 |
| 118 | Lubeck | Germany | 5988 |
| 119 | Gwangju | South Korea | 5985 |
| 120 | Manchester | United Kingdom | 5975 |
| 121 | Innsbruck | Austria | 5974 |
| 122 | Geelong | Australia | 5956 |
| 123 | Dordrecht | Netherlands | 5950 |
| 124 | Almada | Portugal | 5950 |
| 125 | Hiroshima | Japan | 5947 |
| 126 | Rzeszów | Poland | 5927 |
| 127 | Nancy | France | 5915 |
| 128 | Funabashi | Japan | 5905 |
| 129 | Guangzhou | China | 5895 |
| 130 | Gliwice | Poland | 5891 |
| 131 | Anyang | South Korea | 5881 |
| 132 | Hobart | Australia | 5878 |
| 133 | Ansan | South Korea | 5864 |
| 134 | Burnaby | Canada | 5856 |
| 135 | Kaohsiung | Taiwan | 5855 |
| 136 | Ostrava | Czechia | 5839 |
| 137 | Cork | Ireland | 5836 |
| 138 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 5835 |
| 139 | Poznań | Poland | 5833 |
| 140 | Seongnam | South Korea | 5825 |
| 141 | Lower Hutt | New Zealand | 5820 |
| 142 | Taichung | Taiwan | 5814 |
| 143 | Sendai | Japan | 5811 |
| 144 | Rome | Italy | 5804 |
| 145 | Hangzhou | China | 5794 |
| 146 | Verona | Italy | 5786 |
| 147 | Palma | Spain | 5780 |
| 148 | Dunedin | New Zealand | 5773 |
| 149 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | Spain | 5769 |
| 150 | Hsinchu | Taiwan | 5765 |
| 151 | Nottingham | United Kingdom | 5762 |
| 152 | Cheongju | South Korea | 5761 |
| 153 | Limerick | Ireland | 5758 |
| 154 | Białystok | Poland | 5757 |
| 155 | San Diego | United States | 5756 |
| 156 | Częstochowa | Poland | 5752 |
| 157 | Shizuoka | Japan | 5751 |
| 158 | Messina | Italy | 5749 |
| 159 | Lisbon | Portugal | 5748 |
| 160 | Leeds | United Kingdom | 5748 |
| 161 | São Paulo | Brazil | 5743 |
| 162 | Łódź | Poland | 5734 |
| 163 | Swansea | United Kingdom | 5734 |
| 164 | Bari | Italy | 5728 |
| 165 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 5724 |
| 166 | Braga | Portugal | 5723 |
| 167 | Brampton | Canada | 5718 |
| 168 | Rockhampton | Australia | 5715 |
| 169 | Vaughan | Canada | 5708 |
| 170 | Sharjah | United Arab Emirates | 5708 |
| 171 | Tauranga | New Zealand | 5707 |
| 172 | San Jose | United States | 5704 |
| 173 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 5703 |
| 174 | Keelung | Taiwan | 5703 |
| 175 | Asan | South Korea | 5701 |
| 176 | Markham | Canada | 5696 |
| 177 | Boston | United States | 5692 |
| 178 | Burlington | Canada | 5690 |
| 179 | Peterborough | United Kingdom | 5686 |
| 180 | Eindhoven | Netherlands | 5685 |
| 181 | Bradford | United Kingdom | 5677 |
| 182 | Wuppertal | Germany | 5674 |
| 183 | Split | Croatia | 5673 |
| 184 | Wolverhampton | United Kingdom | 5667 |
| 185 | Kumamoto | Japan | 5663 |
| 186 | Tashkent | Uzbekistan | 5661 |
| 187 | Haifa | Israel | 5660 |
| 188 | Bratislava | Slovakia | 5655 |
| 189 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 5632 |
| 190 | Córdoba | Spain | 5617 |
| 191 | Debrecen | Hungary | 5616 |
| 192 | Saskatoon | Canada | 5612 |
| 193 | London | Canada | 5608 |
| 194 | Winnipeg | Canada | 5603 |
| 195 | Le Mans | France | 5600 |
| 196 | Mechelen | Belgium | 5596 |
| 197 | Curitiba | Brazil | 5590 |
| 198 | Marseille | France | 5584 |
| 199 | Gondomar | Portugal | 5579 |
| 200 | Radom | Poland | 5567 |
| 201 | Gelsenkirchen | Germany | 5564 |
| 202 | Naples | Italy | 5564 |
| 203 | Chiayi | Taiwan | 5555 |
| 204 | Nice | France | 5545 |
| 205 | Tainan | Taiwan | 5540 |
| 206 | Istanbul | Turkey | 5478 |
| 207 | New York City | United States | 5475 |
| 208 | Salerno | Italy | 5452 |
| 209 | Austin | United States | 5440 |
| 210 | Minneapolis | United States | 5438 |
| 211 | Beijing | China | 5423 |
| 212 | Larisa | Greece | 5416 |
| 213 | Halifax | Canada | 5399 |
| 214 | Charleroi | Belgium | 5392 |
| 215 | Córdoba | Argentina | 5345 |
| 216 | Kuwait city | Kuwait | 5327 |
| 217 | Luton | United Kingdom | 5321 |
| 218 | Chelyabinsk | Russia | 5306 |
| 219 | Belo Horizonte | Brazil | 5300 |
| 220 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 5281 |
| 221 | Northampton | United Kingdom | 5278 |
| 222 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 5276 |
| 223 | Stoke-on-Trent | United Kingdom | 5272 |
| 224 | Montevideo | Uruguay | 5270 |
| 225 | Funchal | Portugal | 5259 |
| 226 | Mios | France | 5249 |
| 227 | Burgas | Bulgaria | 5246 |
| 228 | Denver | United States | 5235 |
| 229 | Shanghai | China | 5192 |
| 230 | Posadas | Argentina | 5189 |
| 231 | Regina | Canada | 5185 |
| 232 | Ioannina | Greece | 5178 |
| 233 | Medellin | Colombia | 5174 |
| 234 | Whakatane | New Zealand | 5153 |
| 235 | Houston | United States | 5134 |
| 236 | Windsor | Canada | 5084 |
| 237 | Mumbai | India | 5068 |
| 238 | Varna | Bulgaria | 5066 |
| 239 | Milwaukee | United States | 5054 |
| 240 | Atlanta | United States | 5040 |
| 241 | Rabat | Morocco | 5033 |
| 242 | Kuching | Malaysia | 5031 |
| 243 | Chicago | United States | 5020 |
| 244 | Aguascalientes | Mexico | 4968 |
| 245 | Tucson | United States | 4960 |
| 246 | Indianapolis | United States | 4938 |
| 247 | Bucharest | Romania | 4904 |
| 248 | Dallas | United States | 4827 |
| 249 | Nashville | United States | 4827 |
| 250 | Guadalajara | Mexico | 4719 |
| 251 | Kyiv | Ukraine | not ranked |
