What is the happiest city on the planet? The answer is the Happy City Index 2026, the ranking developed by the Institute for Quality of Life, which every year analyzes hundreds of urban areas to understand where people live best. The objective is not to elect the perfect city, but to identify those places that manage to combine development, services and quality of life in a balanced way.
The 2026 edition examined 251 cities, evaluating them through a complex system based on 64 indicators grouped into six large categories: citizens, governance, environment, economy, mobility and healthcare. From this year, aspects related to physical and mental health have also taken on even greater importance, considered increasingly central in the definition of urban well-being.
Behind the research there is extensive international work. The organizers involved hundreds of scholars from different countries to collect and verify the data. In total 466 researchers completed the entire analysis process, contributing to building a global photograph of contemporary cities.
Copenhagen confirms itself as the queen of urban happiness
Even in 2026 the top of the ranking does not change. Copenhagen still takes first place, scoring 6,954 points and maintaining world leadership thanks to a model that combines efficient services, environmental sustainability and quality of life.
Behind it we find Helsinki with 6,919 points, while the third step of the podium is occupied by Geneva with 6,882 points. Completing the top five positions are Uppsala in Sweden and Tokyo, the only non-European city in the top five.
The ranking of the top ten happiest cities in the world is dominated almost entirely by central-northern Europe:
- Copenhagen (Denmark) – 6,954 points
- Helsinki (Finland) – 6,919
- Geneva (Switzerland) – 6,882
- Uppsala (Sweden) – 6,846
- Tokyo (Japan) – 6,788
- Trondheim (Norway) – 6,755
- Bern (Switzerland) – 6,746
- Malmö (Sweden) – 6,705
- Munich (Germany) – 6,691
- Aarhus (Denmark) – 6,685
The Nordic model continues to lead the way
According to the authors of the index, the dominance of Nordic cities does not depend on a single element. What makes the difference is a combination of factors that includes efficient welfare, widespread public transport, accessible services, environmental sustainability and trust in institutions.
In these cities the relationship between citizens and administrations is generally more solid, while urban planning aims to reduce traffic, pollution and territorial inequalities. A set of conditions that translates into a higher perception of daily well-being.
Bologna is the happiest city in Italy, but remains outside the top 50
For Italy, there is no great news. In fact, no city in the Bel Paese manages to enter the group of Gold Cities, the fifty cities considered world excellence for balance and overall quality. The best Italian is Bologna, which occupies 73rd place, despite losing six positions compared to the previous year.
Behind the Emilian capital we find Parma in 77th place and Milan in 80th, the protagonist of a clear retreat after the 25th place obtained in 2025. The other Italian cities present in the ranking are further behind: Rome is 144th, Verona 146th, Messina 158th, Bari 164th, while Naples and Salerno respectively fall to 202nd and 208th position.
The critical issues that hold back Italian cities
Italy’s absence from the top fifty positions is not attributed to a lack of attractiveness or cultural heritage. Experts instead highlight some structural critical issues, including the quality of urban transport, bureaucratic slowness, difficulties in long-term planning and territorial disparities between different areas of the country.
According to the Happy City Index, many Italian cities possess enormous potential, but still struggle to transform them into fully efficient and sustainable urban systems. Bologna thus wins the title of happiest city in Italy, but the comparison with the capitals of Northern Europe shows how the road to the world top is still long.
The ranking of the happiest cities according to the Happy City Index
Below is the ranking of the happiest cities according to the Happy City Index with the Italian cities in bold:
- Copenhagen (Denmark) — 6954
- Helsinki (Finland) — 6919
- Geneva (Switzerland) — 6882
- Uppsala (Sweden) — 6846
- Tokyo (Japan) — 6788
- Trondheim (Norway) — 6755
- Bern (Switzerland) — 6746
- Malmö (Sweden) — 6705
- Munich (Germany) — 6691
- Aarhus (Denmark) — 6685
- Zurich (Switzerland) — 6683
- Barcelona (Spain) — 6668
- Espoo (Finland) — 6668
- Oslo (Norway) — 6623
- The Hague (Netherlands) — 6563
- Ballarat (Australia) — 6546
- Aalborg (Denmark) — 6538
- Yokohama (Japan) — 6526
- Lugano (Switzerland) — 6521
- Reykjavik (Iceland) — 6514
- Jönköping (Sweden) — 6514
- Singapore (Singapore) — 6504
- Grenoble (France) — 6502
- Stuttgart (Germany) — 6502
- Paris (France) — 6493
- Seoul (South Korea) — 6487
- Bremen (Germany) — 6482
- Stockholm (Sweden) — 6479
- Leiden (Netherlands) — 6477
- Antwerp (Belgium) — 6475
- Bergen (Norway) — 6473
- Warsaw (Poland) — 6473
- Vienna (Austria) — 6461
- Nijmegen (Netherlands) — 6459
- Maitland (Australia) — 6453
- Berlin (Germany) — 6435
- Stavanger (Norway) — 6432
- Gothenburg (Sweden) — 6427
- Vancouver (Canada) — 6426
- Klagenfurt on Wörthersee (Austria) — 6420
- Turku (Finland) — 6411
- Ghent (Belgium) — 6408
- Amsterdam (Netherlands) — 6402
- New Taipei (Taiwan) — 6400
- San Francisco (United States) — 6395
- Taipei (Taiwan) — 6383
- Edinburgh (UK) — 6379
- London (UK) — 6366
- Incheon (South Korea) — 6362
- Cambridge (UK) — 6358
- Odense (Denmark) — 6356
- Nagoya (Japan) — 6352
- Essen (Germany) — 6350
- Bruges (Belgium) — 6348
- Roskilde (Denmark) — 6346
- Norrköping (Sweden) — 6342
- Sopot (Poland) — 6338
- Hachioji (Japan) — 6336
- Wroclaw (Poland) — 6330
- Ljubljana (Slovenia) — 6320
- Winterthur (Switzerland) — 6315
- Delft (Netherlands) — 6313
- Frankfurt am Main (Germany) — 6312
- Zaragoza (Spain) — 6303
- Drammen (Norway) — 6297
- Hamburg (Germany) — 6295
- Västerås (Sweden) — 6287
- Aachen (Germany) — 6281
- Maia (Portugal) — 6273
- Bordeaux (France) — 6270
- Adelaide (Australia) — 6269
- Prague (Czechia) — 6263
- Bologna (Italy) — 6258
- Calgary (Canada) — 6258
- Bonn (Germany) — 6253
- Bilbao (Spain) — 6237
- Parma (Italy) — 6232
- Brussels (Belgium) — 6221
- Hannover (Germany) — 6199
- Milan (Italy) — 6183
- Groningen (Netherlands) — 6181
- Krakow (Poland) — 6179
- Gdansk (Poland) — 6168
- Leverkusen (Germany) — 6168
- Sejong (South Korea) — 6160
- Maastricht (Netherlands) — 6153
- Gdynia (Poland) — 6146
- Valencia (Spain) — 6145
- Lucerne (Switzerland) — 6139
- Jyväskylä (Finland) — 6136
- Zoetermeer (Netherlands) — 6130
- Tallinn (Estonia) — 6121
- Augsburg (Germany) — 6120
- Branuschwaig (Germany) — 6119
- Christchurch (New Zealand) — 6089
- Sapporo (Japan) — 6081
- Linz (Austria) — 6077
- Quebec (Canada) — 6075
- Toulouse (France) — 6067
- Duisburg (Germany) — 6063
- Bristol (UK) — 6061
- Toronto (Canada) — 6060
- Daejeon (South Korea) — 6041
- Auckland (New Zealand) — 6037
- Ottawa (Canada) — 6033
- Montreal (Canada) — 6031
- Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — 6028
- Melbourne (Australia) — 6016
- Kitchener (Canada) — 6015
- Brno (Czechia) — 6008
- Matosinhos (Portugal) — 6006
- Southampton (UK) — 6004
- Kyoto (Japan) — 6001
- Odivelas (Portugal) — 6000
- Strasbourg (France) — 5999
- Okayama (Japan) — 5996
- Mannheim (Germany) — 5988
- Lübeck (Germany) — 5988
- Gwangju (South Korea) — 5985
- Manchester (UK) — 5975
- Innsbruck (Austria) — 5974
- Geelong (Australia) — 5956
- Dordrecht (Netherlands) — 5950
- Almada (Portugal) — 5950
- Hiroshima (Japan) — 5947
- Rzeszów (Poland) — 5927
- Nancy (France) — 5915
- Funabashi (Japan) — 5905
- Guangzhou / Guangzhou (China) — 5895
- Gliwice (Poland) — 5891
- Anyang (South Korea) — 5881
- Hobart (Australia) — 5878
- Ansan (South Korea) — 5864
- Burnaby (Canada) — 5856
- Kaohsiung (Taiwan) — 5855
- Ostrava (Czechia) — 5839
- Cork (Ireland) — 5836
- Liverpool (UK) — 5835
- Poznań (Poland) — 5833
- Seongnam (South Korea) — 5825
- Lower Hutt (New Zealand) — 5820
- Taichung (Taiwan) — 5814
- Sendai (Japan) — 5811
- Rome (Italy) — 5804
- Hangzhou (China) — 5794
- Verona (Italy) — 5786
- Palma de Mallorca (Spain) — 5780
- Dunedin (New Zealand) — 5773
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) — 5769
- Hsinchu (Taiwan) — 5765
- Nottingham (UK) — 5762
- Cheongju (South Korea) — 5761
- Limerick (Ireland) — 5758
- Białystok (Poland) — 5757
- San Diego (United States) — 5756
- Częstochowa (Poland) — 5752
- Shizuoka (Japan) — 5751
- Messina (Italy) — 5749
- Lisbon (Portugal) — 5748
- Leeds (UK) — 5748
- Sao Paulo (Brazil) — 5743
- Łódź (Poland) — 5734
- Swansea (UK) — 5734
- Bari (Italy) — 5728
- Dubai (United Arab Emirates) — 5724
- Braga (Portugal) — 5723
- Brampton (Canada) — 5718
- Rockhampton (Australia) — 5715
- Vaughan (Canada) — 5708
- Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) — 5708
- Tauranga (New Zealand) — 5707
- San Jose (United States) — 5704
- Hong Kong (Hong Kong) — 5703
- Keelung (Taiwan) — 5703
- Asan (South Korea) — 5701
- Markham (Canada) — 5696
- Boston (United States) — 5692
- Burlington (Canada) — 5690
- Peterborough (UK) — 5686
- Eindhoven (Netherlands) — 5685
- Bradford (UK) — 5677
- Wuppertal (Germany) — 5674
- Split (Croatia) — 5673
- Wolverhampton (UK) — 5667
- Kumamoto (Japan) — 5663
- Tashkent (Uzbekistan) — 5661
- Haifa (Israel) — 5660
- Bratislava (Slovakia) — 5655
- Buenos Aires (Argentina) — 5632
- Cordoba (Spain) — 5617
- Debrecen (Hungary) — 5616
- Saskatoon (Canada) — 5612
- London (Canada) — 5608
- Winnipeg (Canada) — 5603
- Le Mans (France) — 5600
- Mechelen (Belgium) — 5596
- Curitiba (Brazil) — 5590
- Marseille (France) — 5584
- Gondomar (Portugal) — 5579
- Radom (Poland) — 5567
- Gelsenkirchen (Germany) — 5564
- Naples (Italy) — 5564
- Chiayi (Taiwan) — 5555
- Nice (France) — 5545
- Tainan (Taiwan) — 5540
- Istanbul (Türkiye) — 5478
- New York (United States) — 5475
- Salerno (Italy) — 5452
- Austin (United States) — 5440
- Minneapolis (United States) — 5438
- Beijing (China) — 5423
- Larissa (Greece) — 5416
- Halifax (Canada) — 5399
- Charleroi (Belgium) — 5392
- Cordoba (Argentina) — 5345
- Kuwait City (Kuwait) — 5327
- Luton (United Kingdom) — 5321
- Chelyabinsk (Russia) — 5306
- Belo Horizonte (Brazil) — 5300
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) — 5281
- Northampton (UK) — 5278
- Mecca (Saudi Arabia) — 5276
- Stoke-on-Trent (UK) — 5272
- Montevideo (Uruguay) — 5270
- Funchal (Portugal) — 5259
- Mios (France) — 5249
- Burgas (Bulgaria) — 5246
- Denver (United States) — 5235
- Shanghai (China) — 5192
- Posadas (Argentina) — 5189
- Regina (Canada) — 5185
- Ioannina (Greece) — 5178
- Medellín (Colombia) — 5174
- Whakatane (New Zealand) — 5153
- Houston (United States) — 5134
- Windsor (Canada) — 5084
- Mumbai (India) — 5068
- Varna (Bulgaria) — 5066
- Milwaukee (United States) — 5054
- Atlanta (United States) — 5040
- Rabat (Morocco) — 5033
- Kuching (Malaysia) — 5031
- Chicago (United States) — 5020
- Aguascalientes (Mexico) — 4968
- Tucson (United States) — 4960
- Indianapolis (United States) — 4938
- Bucharest (Romania) — 4904
- Dallas (United States) — 4827
- Nashville (United States) — 4827
- Guadalajara (Mexico) — 4719
- Kyiv (Ukraine) — not classified
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