A new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ranks Copenhagen as the top medium-sized city in the world where people are happy to live. The report, titled

"Cities of Choice: Are People Happy Where They Live?" asked 50,000 people in 81 cities about 150 economic, social, and political metrics and indicators to provide insights into the factors that drive people's choices about where to live.

Copenhagen ranks in the top five cities globally and is the best place to live among the "Middleweight Cities," followed by Vienna, Amsterdam, Warsaw, and Stockholm. The report rates cities across five main categories and 26 sub-dimensions, including Economic Opportunities, Quality of Life, Social Capital, Interactions with Authorities, and Speed of Change. Copenhagen shines particularly in the Quality of Life and Social Capital categories, ranking in the top 20 percent for each.

The city also has a high score for Speed of Change, with a score of 61, streets ahead of others in Western Europe and nine points higher than its performance in 2021. In contrast, Copenhagen only ranks in the bottom 20 percent for one metric (the ability to influence events) and in the bottom 20-40 percent for one other (comfortable climate).

Overall, the report paints an optimistic view of Copenhagen's future, portraying it as a dynamic capital with few flaws, especially when compared to other western European metropolises. Photo by Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia commons.