Making the most of mobility in the global business landscape provides companies with new ways to attract and retain top talent. Cross-border workers and offices are more and more common, and increasingly, the quality of life in a city plays a pivotal role in where employees choose to live and work as remote options open up more opportunities. Here, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Global Liveability Index 2025 comes into play as a key indicator, helping organizations understand which locations offer the best living conditions for professionals and their families.
This year, while some cities have climbed the ranks, others have dropped due to instability or stagnation, and it’s up to companies to use indicators like this to consider the next move. For those focused on global mobility, these shifts highlight the growing need for smart relocation strategies, with Employer of Record (EOR) services offering a new way to relocate simply and effectively.
Deep Dive into 2025 Index Findings: Top-Ranking Cities and Regional Trends
Top 10 Cities
The EIU’s 2025 Global Liveability Index features a familiar but telling lineup at the top. While there may be few surprises in which cities feature in the top 10, there may be more to consider in terms of who isn’t up there and why.
The top 10 most liveable cities this year are:
- Copenhagen – Denmark’s capital topped the list for the first time in 2025, earning perfect scores in stability, education, and infrastructure. With its extensive bike lanes, some of the world’s best green policies, and a robust set of state protections, Copenhagen is a model of sustainable urban living that will attract a whole new generation of global workers.
- Vienna – A long-time leader in liveability that continues to rank highly in let metrics, Vienna combines historic charm with cutting-edge infrastructure and excellent healthcare. A recent dip in stability (due to isolated security incidents) has knocked the city from the top spot, but overall scores continue to suggest Vienna will remain an attractive living option in the heart of Europe.
- Zurich – Switzerland’s financial hub offers a lot to high or mid-tier professionals, including exceptional public transport, clean streets, and low crime. The strong education system, ideal for both families and global professionals, also makes it more and more likely to provide companies with local workers starting from the ground up.
- Melbourne – Known for its cultural scene and education institutions on Australia’s South-East Coast, Melbourne continues to shine in healthcare, infrastructure, and lifestyle. As a strong alternative to those seeking to avoid Sydney’s larger, more metropolitan environment, Melbourne is a favorite for expats in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Geneva – Considered the gold standard for quality of life according to a multitude of factors, this global diplomatic center offers high standards in healthcare, safety, and multilingual education. Geneva continues to attract talent from international organizations and multinational corporations, at a cost.
- Sydney – With stunning natural surroundings, top-tier universities, and a mobile, cosmopolitan workforce, Sydney balances urban energy with lifestyle appeal, making it a strong contender for working destinations in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Osaka – Japan’s second-largest city scores high in stability, healthcare, and infrastructure, offering a more affordable and relaxed alternative to Tokyo while still being well connected to local and regional markets.
- Auckland – New Zealand’s largest city and commercial capital blends natural beauty with modern amenities. While its recovery post-pandemic, and recent issues with cost-of-living have brought the city’s future into question compared to other regional alternatives, Auckland keeps its place among the world’s most liveable cities.
- Adelaide – Though often overshadowed by larger or more famous cities in Australia, Adelaide should feature higher on many people’s radars as the city offers affordable housing, excellent healthcare, strong connections to educational institutions, which offer pipelines for both new and experienced staff development, making it an ideal location for families and remote professionals.
- Vancouver – A favorite for years, Vancouver continues to impress with its environmental policies, diverse population, and healthcare system. Housing affordability remains a challenge, yet the ranking on this list may represent the city’s future potential should reforms be made successfully.
These cities continue to represent the ideal for modern cities, showing that strong infrastructure, stable environments, world-class healthcare, and accessible education systems remain key to many employees’ desires.
Regional Trends: Europe and Asia-Pacific Lead
While it may surprise some, the top 10 is overwhelmingly dominated by Western European and Asia-Pacific cities in 2025. On closer inspection, it seems less surprising when you consider that these regions continue to invest most heavily in public services, urban infrastructure, and social stability.
In contrast, only Vancouver represents North America in the top 10, most likely reflecting challenges around public safety, infrastructure quality, and healthcare access in several American urban centers. While less affected by changes than the US, even Canada’s labor requirements and economic uncertainty may play a role in the changing perception of North American markets for workers.
For international employers, these trends underscore where future investment in talent hubs may be most strategic. As Africa has yet to see expected progress in liveability scores, cities in Europe and Asia-Pacific not only continue to score highly on livability and have historically done well on tables of ease of doing business, but are also becoming increasingly attractive to skilled professionals looking to relocate and take advantage of remote working systems.
Category Highlights
The EIU index is built around several key categories: Stability, Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure, and Culture & Environment.
In a more detailed way, here’s how those categories have changed in 2025:
- Stability – While still strong in top-ranked cities, overall global stability scores have dropped on average due to geopolitical factors like political unrest and terrorism. Most visibly, Vienna lost the top spot largely due to a single terrorist incident, a reminder that even historically stable cities aren’t immune to disruption.
- Healthcare, Education, and Infrastructure – These categories continue to see improvements across the board in 2025. Scandinavian cities, in particular, have capitalized on strong public systems of protection and support, and consistent investment pushes them higher up the rankings.
- Culture & Environment – While harder to quantify on the surface, this category remains crucial when considering rankings in terms of global employment. Cultural vibrancy, green space, and environmental policies are all key points that may be forgotten when thinking about new market or remote team location potential. In 2025, these rankings show that the environment is increasingly important to professionals seeking not just a job, but a high quality of life.
Implications for Businesses & Talent Mobility
Liveability as a Talent Magnet
With remote work options and the breakdown of cross-border work hurdles, cities that rank highly in livability are more than just attractive; they can act as talent magnets for new or ambitious global workers. Metrics like public safety, reliable transportation, quality schooling, and accessible healthcare continue to significantly influence relocation decisions, and knowing how the inherent costs or convenience of these metrics play into individual worker desires can help to build logical and effective staffing strategies.
Consider that when presented with job offers in multiple cities, candidates are now more likely than ever to choose a city like Copenhagen over lower-ranked but higher-paying alternatives where cultural and environmental factors may be lacking. As work is no longer confined to a physical location, the liveability index provides employers with a lens through which they can predict and respond to employee preferences, ultimately helping them make more informed location decisions for targeted hiring projects or remote offices.
Regional Hiring Shifts
With Western Europe and Asia-Pacific taking the lead in terms of liveability, companies are predictably shifting hiring strategies toward these regions. Low-cost markets might still be appealing for operational reasons, but they often lack the livability scores that help attract and retain skilled international workers interested in long-term options.
Ultimately, many global companies will now be thinking about how the savings of operating in a lower-ranked city may be offset by the talent advantages of a more liveable location in these key regions.
Common Relocation Obstacles
Administrative and Compliance Hurdles
As companies quickly find out, relocating employees internationally to take advantage of market opportunities or remote working options isn’t just a matter of buying a plane ticket. It’s a lengthy process that can involve (among others):
- Work permits and visas
- New local and international tax laws
- Employment contracts aligned with local labor regulations and those of the home country
From one city or market to another, the rules can change dramatically and may clash. Companies that go it alone often face bureaucratic slowdowns, legal risks, and compliance headaches that delay or disrupt transfers, especially when setting up a legal entity in a new market.
Employee Well-Being Concerns
Beyond paperwork, the human side of relocation might not be thought about until it’s too late. When weighing the pros and cons of relocation, workers will be thinking about how their families need help finding schools, how they will continue to access healthcare, how they and their loved ones will adapt to new cultures, among a whole raft of new or unexpected issues.
In less stable environments, employees may also face added stress and uncertainty that come with safety concerns, all of which can affect performance or make employees reconsider their choices.
If these issues aren’t handled properly, even a high-ranking city or previously satisfied worker can lead to challenging experiences for relocating talent.
Meet Employer of Record (EOR) as the Solution
What Does an EOR Do?
An Employer of Record is a third-party organization that legally employs your staff in a foreign country. This means that in times of change or uncertainty, including the chance for relocation, the EOR can:
- Manage payroll, benefits, and taxes
- Handle visa applications and work permits
- Ensure compliance with local labor laws
- Provide consistent HR support throughout the relocation process
…all on your behalf without ever having to set up costly company infrastructure in the new environment.
Many companies may alternatively consider signing up their existing employees as contractors in new countries to avoid problematic labor costs and requirements. However, beyond just putting the burden of liability on the worker, this can cause issues of misclassification that can negatively impact both the worker and the employer in serious ways.
With an EOR, companies can relocate or hire employees abroad as or when needed, saving time, reducing cost, and minimizing risk through the application of professional experience, tools, and expertise.
EOR in Action – Streamlining Relocation
A company considering relocating a key employee to Copenhagen, 2025’s most liveable city, can benefit massively from the use of local EOR services. As an example:
Before EOR – The company had to apply for work visas, set up a local payroll system, and navigate Denmark’s labor laws to directly hire the employee via a new local entity. This can take several months of consistent effort before the employee can even get started, and it then requires continuous coverage and extensive legal assistance to maintain compliance from that point.
After EOR – An EOR can handle everything in Denmark, including visas, taxes, benefits, and onboarding within weeks or potentially days, thanks to preestablished local entities able to take on management of employment responsibilities. The employee can start work faster, and the company remains fully compliant from day one with no transition difficulties.
Benefits for Companies
Using an EOR offers tangible benefits:
- Rapid deployment of talent, with the option to scale up or down immediately
- Full compliance with local laws as they continually evolve
- Improved employee satisfaction and retention
- No need to establish a local entity
For companies prioritizing agility, flexibility, and protection from liability concerns, EOR is a game-changer.
Optimizing Relocation Strategy with INS Global
At INS Global, we go beyond basic EOR services to offer a tailored all-in-one global expansion package. We leverage the best in innovative tools and practice, including data, like that from the Global Liveability Index, to help our partnering companies make informed decisions and reach their global potential.
We work with you following a simple step-by-step process matched entirely to your needs:
Step-by-Step EOR Implementation
Here’s how INS Global makes relocation seamless:
- Initial consultation – Understand your company culture, goals, role, and destination requirements
- Visa and compliance planning – Our experts outline all local requirements and manage the necessary procedures
- Employment setup – INS Global becomes the legal employer of your local workers in the target market
- Onboarding and support – Employees receive local guidance and HR assistance to help them relocate and integrate
- Ongoing compliance – We update you on regulatory changes and proactively ensure continued adherence
We measure success by the 3 factors that matter most to globally-minded businesses:
- Time-to-start – Employees begin work weeks sooner with an EOR than through traditional routes
- The removal of roadblocks – Legal, financial, and personal support reduces friction and resulting costs
- Employee satisfaction – Employees who feel supported and settled are less likely to reconsider their options later on
Final Thoughts: EOR – Making the Most of Competitive Advantage
The 2025 EIU Global Liveability Index isn’t just a list, but a strategic tool for employers. It highlights those cities best equipped to attract and support talent thanks to factors like healthcare availability and environmental sustainability, offering new insight into what professionals now expect from a workplace destination.
Companies that move quickly, stay compliant, and put employee experience first as part of a dedicated global expansion strategy will lead the race for global talent.
With an EOR solution like INS Global, that advantage becomes easier to achieve. We simplify international hiring and relocation so your team can focus on performance, not paperwork. Are you or your employees looking to relocate talent to a top liveability city in 2025 and make market growth a part of your retention or hiring strategy?
INS Global is your trusted partner for fast, compliant, and stress-free solutions. Contact our expert expansion advisors today to learn how we can move forward, together.
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