Cities are the primary generators of economic activity worldwide. 72% of the 750 cities examined by the World Bank between 2005 and 2012 experienced economic growth rates that were higher than those of their respective national economies. Similarly, according to researchers, the top 600 cities in the world are predicted to produce 60% of the world's gross domestic product by 2025.
How Cities Spur Economic Growth?
Cities have a tremendous amount of potential to enhance incomes, stimulate innovation and creativity, foster growth and prosperity, and create jobs. The potential for improved efficiency brought about by population density, technology, skilled human capital, and resource accessibility is the primary economic benefit that urban places offer. These economies of scale encourage the expansion of the private sector by increasing labor productivity. In a similar vein, city-based academic and healthcare facilities can function on a greater scale and offer more refined services.
Delivering necessities like energy, water, sewage, and waste management can also benefit from economies of scale. The cost of providing public goods decreases as cities build the mechanisms and infrastructure needed to supply basic services.
Moreover, cities are crucial in facilitating the trade that propels the developing world's rapid economic growth, and they also foster the climate for innovative entrepreneurship through their bustling urban markets.
Urban Population Growth and Factors Affecting Livability of Cities
With approximately 7 out of 10 people living in cities by 2050, the urban population is predicted to more than double from its current size. India, China, and Nigeria will make up 35% of the expected increase in the world's urban population between 2018 and 2050, according to a report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).Therefore, it is essential to comprehend what makes a city livable because it has an impact on the daily lives of billions of people.
Many indicators linked to quality of life are typically used to gauge how livable a city is. Depending on a person's age, income, cultural background, lifestyle preferences, values, and beliefs, they may have different opinions regarding a city’s suitability for habitation. Objective and subjective factors can both be used to measure the aspects that affect people's perceptions of livability.
Objective criteria can be measured and quantified, and a number of objective factors affect how livable a city is. Let's briefly address some of these important factors.
Accessibility to Healthcare and Education
Those who live in the most livable cities in the world typically have access to high-quality health care services, including doctors, public and private hospitals, and specialty clinics. In addition, they also have access to a wide range of educational facilities, including universities and training facilities.
Environmental Quality
Another important component that impacts how habitable a city is the environment. Clean water, clean air, the amount of pollution, trash, or noise in an area are just a few examples of attributes that can be referred to as environmental quality.
Safety and Stability of a Place
People cherish feeling safe and secure in their homes. Data gathered by the government, such as crime figures, is used to assess a city's stability and safety.
Climate
The livability of a city is significantly influenced by its climate. Many people appreciate varied weather conditions, but most people concur that a mild climate without extremes of heat or cold is best. Climate-friendly cities frequently have high livability ratings.
Accessibility to Healthcare and Education
Those who live in the most livable cities in the world typically have access to high-quality health care services, including doctors, public and private hospitals, and specialty clinics. In addition, they also have access to a wide range of educational facilities, including universities and training facilities.
On the contrary, subjective factors are more difficult to quantify and compare than objective factors. They are connected to one's preferences, as well as sentiments of belonging to one's family, friends, and cultural groups.
Best Cities to live in the World in 2023
Let's look at the best cities to live in the world in 2023 bearing these facts in mind.
We chose the cities that appeared in at least two of the aforementioned reports. We then proceeded to assign a score to these cities based on their rankings for each report. For instance, there are a total of 48 cities in Global Finance's report. #1 city will get a score of 48/48=1, #2 city will get a score of 47/48=0.98 and so on. We repeated the same scoring methodology for the other two reports.
Finally, based on these reports, we determined the average score for each city. The cities are ranked in ascending order of their average scores.
Best Cities to Live in the World in 2023
30. Fukuoka
Global Finance Report Score: 0.33
Monocle Survey Score: 0.16
Average Score: 0.16
Fukuoka, one of the most livable cities in the world, is the sixth-largest city in Japan. The city features a very safe living environment. It is also a good place to live with high ratings in business freedom, healthcare and environmental quality.
The city’s average cost of living is 65% less than that of New York City.
29. Brisbane
Monocle Survey Score: 0.04
Mercer Survey Score: 0.85
Average Score: 0.30
Brisbane, capital of Queensland, is a good place to live with high ratings in safety, healthcare and environmental quality. The city's job economy is strong and is expanding. With industries ranging from insurance and banking to transportation, travel, retail, and real estate, many of Australia's leading publicly-listed companies, such as The Bank of Queensland, Suncorp Group Limited, and The Star Entertainment Group Limited, are headquartered in Brisbane.
28. Shanghai
Global Finance Report Score: 0.95
Mercer Survey Score: 0.004
Average Score: 0.32
Shanghai, one of the world's largest seaports and a major industrial and commercial city of China, is a very safe place to live in because of its low crime rates.
Additionally, transportation in the city is incredibly affordable. Maximum fare for a metro ride across the city is around $1.35.
27. Osaka
Global Finance Report Score: 0.38
Mercer Survey Score: 0.75
Average Score: 0.38
Osaka, a large port city on the Japanese island of Honshu, is famous for its rich and abundant food culture. It is a good place to live with high ratings in housing, business freedom and healthcare.
Compared to Tokyo, the cost of living in the city is substantially lower. Without rent, the average monthly cost for a single person in Osaka around is $921.
26. Brussels
Global Finance Report Score: 0.31
Mercer Survey Score: 0.88
Average Score: 0.39
Brussels, with nearly 36% of its population being foreign-born, is the capital of Belgium. The city's high level of living, which includes excellent social security, healthcare, and public facilities, is especially appreciated by expats.
25. Milan
Global Finance Report Score: 0.23
Monocle Survey Score: 0.2
Mercer Survey Score: 0.83
Average Score: 0.42
Milan, capital of Lombardy, Italy, is a good place to live with high ratings in travel connectivity, safety and healthcare. Young professionals with a background in finance, marketing, or economics find the city appealing.
24. Geneva
Global Finance Report Score: 0.42
Mercer Survey Score: 0.97
Average Score: 0.46
Geneva, a city in Switzerland, is home to many international organizations and global companies including the United Nations. This makes the city particularly alluring to foreign nationals.
Despite being very safe, well-maintained, and equipped with high-quality public services, Geneva is also expensive, like most Swiss cities. Without rent, the average monthly cost for a single person in the city is $1,518.
23. Auckland
Monocle Survey Score: 0.4
Mercer Survey Score: 0.99
Average Score: 0.48
Auckland, a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand, is a culturally diverse, safe and stable city. In addition, the city has a top-notch public healthcare and education system.
Auckland also boasts a fantastic climate, with average summer temperatures of 24 degrees and average winter temperatures of roughly 15 degrees.
22. Frankfurt
Global Finance Report Score: 0.5
Mercer Survey Score: 0.97
Average Score: 0.49
Frankfurt, a central German city on the river Main, is the financial capital of Germany and is home to the European Central Bank. With Germany's biggest airport, it serves as a significant transportation hub. The city boasts a good standard of living and is populated by many foreigners.
21. Barcelona
Global Finance Report Score: 0.39
Monocle Survey Score: 0.32
Mercer Survey Score: 0.82
Average Score: 0.51
Barcelona, with a population of 1.62 million, offers an engaging mix of relaxed lifestyle and innovative business environment, making it one of the most attractive startup scenes in Europe. In addition, the city has a rich cultural history and a vibrant, contemporary social scene that places an emphasis on sports, city beaches, and delicious regional cuisine.
20. Munich
Monocle Survey Score: 0.6
Mercer Survey Score: 0.99
Average Score: 0.53
Munich, the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria, is a fabulous place to live. In addition to its excellent level of living, stunning scenery, and rich culture, the city offers a diverse student environment and graduate career prospects.
Over 100,000 students attend the city's leading universities, where they study anything from biochemical engineering to archaeology.
19. New York
Global Finance Report Score: 0.83
Mercer Survey Score: 0.81
Average Score: 0.54
New York, with a population of 8.468 million, is among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers. When compared to other major cities throughout the world, it has the infrastructure and public services to offer its citizens a high standard of living.
18. Toronto
Global Finance Report Score: 0.71
Mercer Survey Score: 0.94
Average Score: 0.55
Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a world leader in areas such as business, finance, technology, entertainment and culture. It is one of the world's most multicultural cities due to its sizable immigrant population from all over the world.
Nearly 46.6% of those residing in the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA) in 2021 were immigrants.
17. Vancouver
Monocle Survey Score: 0.68
Mercer Survey Score: 0.99
Average Score: 0.56
Vancouver, with its scenic views, mild climate, and friendly people, is a bustling west coast seaport in British Columbia. The city provides world-class infrastructure, universal healthcare, diversity in culture and environment, and economic and political stability.
Natural resource industries have a strong presence in Vancouver. British Columbia, which is rich in resources, is home to some 1,200 mineral exploration firms, with 800 of them based in the city. They include Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TECK) and First Quantum Minerals among others.
16. Taipei
Global Finance Report Score: 0.48
Monocle Survey Score: 0.64
Mercer Survey Score: 0.64
Average Score: 0.59
Taipei, with a population of 2.646 million, is the capital of Taiwan. Because of its low crime rate, excellent healthcare system, efficient public transportation, and comparatively inexpensive cost of living, Taipei is regarded by many as a fantastic city to live in.
15. London
Global Finance Report Score: 1.0
Mercer Survey Score: 0.83
Average Score: 0.61
London, with a population of just under 9 million, is packed with endless opportunities. In addition to having some of the best universities, schools, and museums in the world, it is one of the most welcoming cities in the world for entrepreneurs.
14. Madrid
Global Finance Report Score: 0.58
Monocle Survey Score: 0.44
Mercer Survey Score: 0.81
Average Score: 0.61
Madrid, renowned for its rich repositories of European art, is the capital and most populous city of Spain. It is a desirable city to live in because of its amenities, sports, culture, art, gastronomy, safety, and high-quality public services.
13. Singapore
Global Finance Report Score: 0.96
Monocle Survey Score: 0.08
Mercer Survey Score: 0.89
Average Score: 0.64
Singapore, with a population of 5.454 million, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. Singaporeans benefit from stable politics, low crime rates, and top-notch access to housing, healthcare, education, recreation, and transportation.
12. Seoul
Global Finance Report Score: 0.75
Monocle Survey Score: 0.56
Mercer Survey Score: 0.67
Average Score: 0.66
Seoul, with a population of 9.776 million, is a megacity with a high quality of life. It is undoubtedly a highly desirable city to live in due to its cutting-edge technological environment, mouthwatering local food, and low crime rate.
11. Paris
Global Finance Report Score: 0.88
Monocle Survey Score: 0.36
Mercer Survey Score: 0.84
Average Score: 0.69
Paris, a significant European city, is rich in culture and art, has endless work opportunities, world-class universities, and so many life-changing opportunities.
Practically speaking, Paris is 33% less expensive than London.
