Adelaide pipped in most liveable cities rankings by interstate rival
Adelaide may have robbed an interstate rival of its MotoGP but it is still failing to knock it off in the top tier liveable city rankings, according to a prestigious annual global study. See where Adelaide ranked.
Adelaide is listed as the eighth most liveable city in the world in the 2026 Economist Intelligence Unit (EIS) Global Liveability Index, climbing from ninth position last year and up from 30th three years ago.
But Melbourne and Sydney still rank ahead of Adelaide as Australia emerged as the most prominent country to feature on the top ten list; both ranking ahead of Adelaide in the third and fourth spots respectively.
Acting Premier Kyam Maher put the city’s high rating down to Adelaide’s top-quality sporting and arts events.
“From AFL Gather Round and bp Adelaide Grand Final to the Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Fringe and WOMADelaide, South Australia is attracting world-class events that bring our city to life,” he said.
“And with MotoGP set to join that calendar, we are continuing to enhance Adelaide’s reputation as a destination that can compete with the best in the world.”
The ranking is based on scores from five broad categories including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
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“The concept of liveability is simple: It assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions,” the EIS report said.
“Scores are then compiled and weighted within each category to provide a category score of 1-100, where one is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal.”
Global Liveability Index 2026 top ten positions:
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Vienna, Austria,
- Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Osaka, Japan
- Adelaide, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Tokyo, Japan
Copenhagen retained top position for the second year running, scoring a perfect 100 in three categories and a 98 overall rating. Vienna, Melbourne and Sydney were just behind with a 97 overall rating, with Adelaide trailing not far behind with 96 points.
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Melbourne held the title of most liveable city for several years before both it and Sydney took a hit in the rankings during the 2020 Covid lockdown, but both cities were experiencing a return to the top of the rankings.
“All of the top ten have perfect scores for education, with most also scoring 100 for healthcare provision,” the EIS report said.
Adelaide scored a 100 in the healthcare and education sectors, followed by a 96 in infrastructure, 95 in stability, and a 91 in culture and environment.
Maher said the ranking provided “international recognition” that Adelaide is “one of the best places in the world to live”.
“Adelaide offers something truly unique. We have a fantastic lifestyle and a strong economy. Our city continues to build incredible momentum,” Maher said.
“Being recognised as the world’s eighth most liveable city is something every South Australian should be proud of, as our government continues to work to make this an even better place to live, work, visit and invest in.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Damascus in Syria was named the least liveable city in the world as it recovers from a civil war, while Tehran in Iran joins the bottom 10 as a result of the ongoing war with the United States, this week leading to numerous sites across the country being bombed.
The bottom ten cities in the index have nearly all been affected by war or poverty, or both, scoring particularly poorly for stability.
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