Tokyo ranked 10th and Osaka 7th in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Global Liveability Index 2026, published on 7 July 2026. They are the only Asian cities in the top ten. Both scored 100 out of 100 for stability, healthcare and education. Tokyo’s weakest categories were culture and environment, at 89, and infrastructure, at 93.
Key Facts
- Publisher: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), part of The Economist Group
- Osaka’s rank: 7th, the same position it held in 2025
- Overall score: both cities scored 96 out of 100
- Perfect category scores: stability, healthcare and education, for both cities
- Asian cities in the top ten: two, both Japanese
- Asian cities in the top 20: nine
- Survey conducted: May 2026
- Global average score: 76.1 out of 100, unchanged year on year
What is the Global Liveability Index?
The Global Liveability Index is an annual assessment published by EIU that scores 173 cities on how comfortable they are to live in. It groups 30 indicators into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Each category is scored from 1 to 100, where 1 is intolerable and 100 is ideal. The categories are then weighted into an overall score. Stability and culture and environment carry 25% each. Healthcare and infrastructure carry 20% each. Education carries 10%. Final scores above 80 are classed as acceptable, and those under 40 as intolerable.
The index exists partly to help employers set hardship allowances for staff posted overseas. This matters when reading the result. It measures living conditions, not the cost of living or the price of housing.
Who is the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)? EIU is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, founded in 1946. It produces economic, political and policy forecasts covering around 200 countries, drawing on a network of roughly 400 analysts, and publishes the Global Liveability Index each year.
Where did Tokyo and Osaka rank in 2026?
Tokyo placed 10th and Osaka 7th. Copenhagen held first place for a second year, followed by Vienna and Melbourne.
The top ten was Copenhagen, Vienna, Melbourne, Sydney, Zurich, Geneva, Osaka, Adelaide, Vancouver and Tokyo. Australia holds three places and Switzerland two. Japan is the only Asian country represented, and it holds two of the ten. Vancouver is the only North American city in the group.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore ranked 26th and Hong Kong 44th, both unchanged from 2025. EIU attributes the ceiling in each case to culture and environment, where restrictions on political freedoms limit the score.
Why did Tokyo move up three places?
Tokyo rose on an improved culture and environment score, though its overall score did not change.
EIU’s data shows Tokyo with a rank movement of three places and an index movement of zero. Its rounded overall score stayed at 96. The improvement came within the culture and environment category, and the three-place gain also reflects declines elsewhere in the group. Zurich fell three places to fifth, and Auckland fell five to twelfth, dropping out of the top ten.
This is a useful distinction. Tokyo did not surge. It held a high score while several peers slipped, and it improved in the one category where it had room to move.
What separates Tokyo and Osaka from the rest of Asia?
Culture and environment is the category that keeps most Asian cities out of the top ten, and it is where Japan performs differently.
The average culture and environment score across the 58 Asian cities in the index is 67. Tokyo scored 89 and Osaka 87. That gap of more than 20 points is the clearest explanation for why Japan is the only Asian country in the top ten.
The category covers climate, corruption, social and religious restrictions, censorship, sporting and cultural availability, food and drink, and consumer goods. EIU noted that Chinese cities have climbed the rankings on improved healthcare scores, with five now above 80 in that category, but that low culture and environment scores continue to limit their overall gains because of restrictions on political freedoms.
Japan does not carry that constraint. Combined with a stability score of 100, this is what holds Tokyo and Osaka in the top ten while faster-improving Asian cities gain ground below them.
How does Tokyo score against the top ten?
Tokyo leads the group on stability and healthcare and trails it on culture and environment and infrastructure.
| Category | Weight | Tokyo | Osaka | Top-ten average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stability | 25% | 100 | 100 | 96.5 |
| Healthcare | 20% | 100 | 100 | 99.2 |
| Culture & environment | 25% | 89 | 87 | 92.9 |
| Education | 10% | 100 | 100 | 100.0 |
| Infrastructure | 20% | 93 | 96 | 96.2 |
| Overall | – | 96 | 96 | 96.5 |
Top-ten average calculated by Housing Japan Research from EIU Global Liveability Index 2026 category scores.
Only three cities in the top ten scored 100 for stability: Copenhagen, Osaka and Tokyo. The other seven scored 95. With stability weighted at 25% of the total, this is where Tokyo’s ranking is anchored.
The reverse applies to infrastructure. Tokyo’s 93 is the joint-lowest in the top ten alongside Vancouver, and Housing Japan Research reads it as the main reason Osaka finishes ahead despite an identical rounded score of 96 and a lower culture and environment mark. EIU ranks on unrounded scores that it does not publish.
What does the index say about housing?
The infrastructure category includes availability of good quality housing, alongside road networks, public transport, international links, energy, water and telecommunications.
This is the only point at which housing enters the index, and it measures availability and quality rather than price. Cost of living, purchase prices, rents and taxes are excluded entirely.
That distinction matters for anyone reading the ranking as a property signal. A city can score highly for liveability while housing is expensive or in short supply. Tokyo’s infrastructure score of 93 sits against 100 for Copenhagen and Vienna, and 96 for Osaka and the three Australian cities. EIU publishes category scores only, so the housing component cannot be separated from the other six indicators, which cover roads, public transport, international links, energy, water and telecommunications.
In Housing Japan’s experience of the central Tokyo market, the supply of family-sized housing differs markedly from ward to ward. Speak to our team about a specific area.
How could this affect Tokyo real estate?
Liveability scores influence residential demand through corporate relocation policy rather than through prices directly.
The index feeds hardship allowance calculations for expatriate postings. A higher score reduces the premium an employer pays to place staff in a city, which makes that city easier to justify for regional offices and senior appointments. More long-term foreign residents means more demand for family-sized housing in well-connected central locations.
That flow is visible in residence data. Japan’s foreign resident population reached 4,125,395 at the end of 2025, passing four million for the first time and rising 9.5% year on year. Tokyo held the largest share at 801,438 people, up 8.5%, or 19.4% of the national total.
What does current Tokyo market data show?
Tokyo prices are still rising, but transaction volumes and momentum have both softened.
REINS data for the April to June 2026 quarter puts the Tokyo 23 wards second-hand apartment market at ¥1,362,200 per square metre, up 5.1% year on year and rising for a 54th consecutive quarter. The average contract price reached ¥75.74m, up 2.7%. Transaction volume fell 13.2% to 4,803 units, a second consecutive quarterly decline.
Across Greater Tokyo the average contract price was ¥52.01m. That is a 55th consecutive quarterly increase, but at 0.2% it is close to flat. Inventory rose 3.5% to 45,995 units. New listings averaged ¥65.93m, up 22.7% year on year, well ahead of what buyers are paying.
Sellers have raised expectations faster than buyers have followed. A liveability ranking speaks to the long-term demand base. It does not tell you what a specific property is worth this quarter, and the two should not be conflated.
Q&A
Which Asian cities made the 2026 Global Liveability Index top ten?
Only Osaka, at 7th, and Tokyo, at 10th. Japan is the only Asian country represented, and it holds two of the ten places. Singapore ranked 26th and Hong Kong 44th, the next highest Asian entries. Nine Asian cities appear in the top 20.
Why does Osaka rank above Tokyo when both scored 96?
Infrastructure, on Housing Japan Research’s reading. Osaka scored 96 against Tokyo’s 93, and infrastructure carries 20% of the total weighting. Tokyo scored higher on culture and environment, 89 to 87, but not by enough to close the gap. Both cities scored 100 for stability, healthcare and education.
Did Tokyo’s liveability score actually improve in 2026?
Its culture and environment score improved, but its overall score was unchanged at 96. EIU’s data records Tokyo with a rank movement of three places and an index movement of zero. The rise into the top ten also reflects declines by Zurich and Auckland.
Does the Global Liveability Index measure housing costs?
No. Housing appears only once, as availability of good quality housing within the infrastructure category. The index excludes purchase prices, rents, taxes and cost of living entirely. EIU publishes cost of living separately.
Does a high liveability ranking mean Tokyo property prices will rise?
No. The index measures living conditions, and there is no mechanical link to property values. Tokyo prices respond to interest rates, supply and buyer capacity. REINS data for Q2 2026 showed 23-ward prices up 5.1% per square metre while transaction volumes fell 13.2%.
When is the next index published?
EIU publishes annually, usually in June or July. The 2026 edition was released on 7 July 2026, using data collected in May 2026.
Looking at property in Tokyo?
The liveability data describes the city. It does not describe any individual building, street or ward, and those differences are what determine whether a property suits you.
Housing Japan has brokered residential property in central Tokyo since 2000. We handle buying, selling, leasing and property management, and our licensed agents work with expatriate families, relocating professionals and overseas buyers.
If you would like to discuss the Tokyo market or a specific area, get in touch below.
Sources:
EIU, Global Liveability Index 2026
East Japan Real Estate Information Network (REINS), Quarterly Market Watch Summary Report, April–June 2026
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, foreign resident statistics, end-2025
