Ouzo, the Spirit of Greek Summer
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The Happy City Index is back for its sixth edition and with 200 global hubs assessed, Copenhagen in Denmark earns the title of the happiest city in the world while two Greek cities, Athens and Ioannina, in northwestern Greece barely made the cut, ranking near the bottom.
The index, run by the London-based organization Institute for Quality of Life, ranks 200 cities around the world, using 82 indicators across six broad categories including governance, environment, economy, mobility and citizens—these include indicators such as education and access to cultural institutions. The sixth category, which is new to the 2025 index, is around the theme of health—with indicators such as mental health, nutrition and safety.
Despite its cultural vibrancy, Mediterranean vibes and rich history, Athens ranked 183rd with a score of 573 points, with researchers citing major shortcomings in mobility, environmental sustainability and economic conditions. The historic city of Ioannina scored slightly higher and ranked 151st with 624 points, also due to environmental concerns and limited transportation accessibility.
In contrast, the Danish capital topped the list with a total of 1,039 points, followed by Zurich, Switzerland with a score of 993 while in third place was Singapore with a score of 979. In the index’s top 20, 15 of the entries are in Europe.
Copenhagen was particularly noted for its inclusive urban policies and high educational standards.
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Singapore
4. Aarhus, Denmark
5. Antwerp, Belgium
6. Seoul, South Korea
7. Stockholm, Sweden
8. Taipei, Taiwan
9. Munich, Germany
10. Rotterdam, Netherlands
11. Vancouver, Canada
12. Vienna, Austria
13. Paris, France
14. Helsinki, Finland
15. Aalborg, Denmark
16. Berlin, Germany
17. New York, United States
18. Dresden, Germany
19. Brussels, Belgium
20. Geneva, Switzerland
Greece dropped 17 places in the World Happiness Report released in March to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness. Greece was 81st on the list, while Cyprus was in 67th place.
Experts used responses from people in more than 140 nations to rank the world’s ‘happiest’ countries. Finland topped the overall list for the eighth successive year with Finns reporting an average score of 7.736 (out of 10) when asked to evaluate their lives.
The report examined parameters such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. It was conducted by Gallup in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, stressed that happiness is not only about wealth or development but also about trust, connection, and the sense that people feel safe. In addition, factors such as the presence of social support and the number of members in a family affect happiness.
The report said that in general western industrial countries are now less happy than they were between 2005 and 2010. Fifteen of them have had significant drops, compared to four with significant increases. Three Western countries had drops exceeding 0.5 on the 0–10 scale (the United States, Switzerland, and Canada) putting them among the fifteen largest losers.
