The Austrian capital occupies the top positions in stability, health, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
One It has long been synonymous with art, culture and gastronomy. The Austrian capital’s popularity among tourists can attest to its reputation, with more than 17 million overnight stays in 2023. Almost the same figures before the pandemic.
For the more than two million inhabitants of the Vienna metropolitan area, the city is characterized, among other factors, by its affordability, access to healthcare and educationcomparatively low rents and green spaces.
For this reason, for third consecutive yearthe city has been chosen as the most livable in the world, according to an annual index prepared by ‘Economist Intelligence Unit’ (EIU), sister company of the British publication ‘The Economist’.
Europe occupies the top three positions among the 173 cities analyzed: Copenhagen (Denmark) takes second place and Zurich (Switzerland) with the third.
What makes Vienna so liveable?
He doesn’t come alone tops the EIU rankingsbut also the ‘Mercer’ quality of life index, which has named it number one for the last 10 years. The city was also named European capital of democracy in 2023and obtained second place in the quality of life survey of ‘Monocle’ magazine.
“If we talk about surveys like those of ‘Mercer’ or ‘Economist Intelligence Unit’, they analyze in a very exhaustive way factors such as availability of green spaces in a city, transport or infrastructure in general,” Nikolaus Gräser, spokesperson for the Vienna Tourist Office, told ‘Euronews’.
“I think Vienna ticks a lot of boxes and, as a resident, it is a very liveable, very well-functioning city.” Gräser added that “Vienna perfectly combines the efficiency of Northern Europe and the lifestyle of Southern Europeand that implies a high degree of enjoyment. “It’s not so much about what you can do in the city as what you want to do.”
How does the classification work?
The EIU evaluates habitability using a scoring system from zero to one hundred that takes into account 30 factors included in five categories: stability, health, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Each factor is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable.
The scores are compiled and weighted to obtain the final score, in which a one is considered intolerable and an ideal 100. The habitability index is based on the overall score and that of each category.
Affordable housing
Compared to London, Paris and Berlin, Vienna is one of the few places where rental prices have remained relatively stable in the last decade, although they continue to increase over time.
The average rent, bills included, is 570 euros for a furnished private room, and 929 euros for a furnished studioaccording to the global rental platform ‘HousingAnywhere’. There, the average salary after taxes of 34,188 euros per year or 2,849 euros per month.
The city of Vienna is one of the largest landlords in Europe: Municipal authorities own around a quarter of the housing stock of the city, which means 220,000 municipally owned apartments and 200,000 in cooperatives.
The rents are also regulated by local governmentso that none of the residents pay more than 20 or 25% of their family income on rent when they live in social housing.
The city also boasts low crime ratesoccupying third place in the ‘Global Peace Index 2024’behind Iceland and Ireland.
Public transport and green spaces
According to Mayor Michael Ludwig, Vienna’s continued ranking as a highly livable city shows that it works well, that its leaders take correct political decisions and that is prepared for the future.
ADVERTISING“All residents of our city benefit from the high quality of life, the stability and reliability of infrastructure“, he stated. “These achievements are the merit of all those who work for this city every day.”
Approximately 50% of Vienna is made up of green spacesincluding parks and wooded areas, according to official city statistics.
Many of the vineyards grow grapes in the hills surrounding the city and all are accessible by public transportation. In fact, only a third of the city’s inhabitants drive a car
According to Wiener Linien, the city’s public transport operator, 2.6 million people use the public transportation system dailywith more than 100 metro stations spread throughout the city.
ADVERTISING73% take public transport to go to work, 44% walk13% ride a bicycle and only 33% drive, according to Travel Portal.
The city has 800 farms within its limitsand almost half a million trees are under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Department of Parks and Gardens, which greatly facilitates access to nature for city residents.
Perhaps the city’s greatest green asset is the Danube Island, a 21-kilometer artificial island between the banks of the Danube river.
Originally built for prevent flooding in the cityis now a party and water sports venue that cannot be accessed by car, as the subway arrives directly.
ADVERTISING“If you like water sports, you can go to the Danube Island to windsurf, there are trails for mountain biking and hiking,” Gräser explains to ‘Euronews’. “And all of this 20 minutes from first-rate culture and gastronomy. “I think it’s the perfect combination for a place to live.”
