Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".
A global city is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that globalization has created a hierarchy of strategic geographic locations with varying degrees of influence over finance, trade, and culture worldwide. The global city represents the most complex and significant hub within the international system, characterized by links binding it to other cities that have direct, tangible effects on global socioeconomic affairs.
Statistics in the European Union are collected by Eurostat.
Livability or liveability is the degree to which a place is good for living. Livability refers to the concerns that are related to the long-term wellbeing of individuals and communities. It encompasses factors like neighborhood amenities, including parks, open space, walkways, grocery shops and restaurants as well as environmental quality, safety and health. It also incorporates things like cost and friendliness. These features contribute to the pleasantness and accessibility of communities. Additionally, livability considers the availability and quality of public transport, educational institutions and healthcare facilities. It also considers the overall cultural and social atmosphere of a place, including the presence of diverse recreational activities and community engagement opportunities. All these factors combined create an environment that enhances the overall quality of life for residents.
The following are links to some international rankings of the United States.
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006. Each country's HPI value is a function of its average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. The exact function is a little more complex, but conceptually it approximates multiplying life satisfaction and life expectancy and dividing that by the ecological footprint. The index is weighted to give progressively higher scores to nations with lower ecological footprints.
The Democracy Index published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. The methodology for assessing democracy used in this democracy index is according to Economist Intelligence Unit which is part of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company, which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped into five categories, measuring pluralism, civil liberties, and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes each country into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. The first Democracy Index report was published in 2006. Reports were published every two years until 2010 and annually thereafter. The index includes 167 countries and territories, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. Other democracy indices with similar assessments of the state of democracy include V-Dem Democracy indices or Bertelsmann Transformation Index.
The following are international rankings of Japan.
The following are international rankings of Malaysia.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports. The EIU provides country, industry, and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a UK company acquired by its parent company in 1986. The EIU has its main offices in four cities—London, New York, Hong Kong and Dubai.
The following are international rankings of Egypt.
The World Cities Summit is an international conference series on public governance and the sustainable development of cities.
The following are some international rankings for Singapore.
Canada is recognized in international rankings for a variety of reasons, ranging from its high standard of living to its strong economy and political stability. Canada ranks high on its social, legal, healthcare and education systems with its universities ranked among the best in the world. The country consistently ranks high in other various indices measuring factors such as human rights, quality of life, safety, happiness, prosperity and sustainability. This has led to Canada being recognized as one of the best countries in the world to live. Despite these facts there are varied domestic concerns, Canada ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for housing affordability, technology affordability, healthcare accessibility, and foreign direct investment.
The Global Liveability Ranking is a yearly assessment published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), ranking 172 global cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Austria's capital, Vienna, was ranked the most liveable city in 2024, 2023, and 2022 among the 172 cities surveyed by The Economist Intelligence Unit, having previously won in 2019 and 2018, and came second in 2017 and 2016. Auckland was ranked the most liveable city in 2021. Melbourne, Australia, was ranked by the EIU as the world's most liveable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 to 2017.
The following are international rankings of Shanghai by categories.
The Quality of Life Program (QOLP) is a government program aimed at increasing recreation and tourism in Saudi Arabia as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 Realization Programs. It was launched in the middle of 2018.
British Columbia (B.C.) is the third largest Canadian province by population and fourth largest provincial economy. Like other provinces in the Canadian federation, B.C. consists of both private and public institutions. However, as Canada's westernmost province, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, B.C. has unique economic characteristics that distinguish it from much of the rest of Canada.
According to the Worldwide Cost of Living 2020 report issued by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Singapore, Hong Kong, and Osaka share the title of costliest city in the world. The list was prepared based on their Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) Index scores. The Worldwide Cost of Living survey was done in order to compare the cost of living indices in cities all over the world.
Austria 
Denmark 
Switzerland 
Australia 
Canada 
Japan 
New Zealand 
Finland 
Germany 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
