Top ten happiest cities in the world

What factors contribute to a city’s happiness?

According to a new study by iVisa, the most important factors that bring us joy are life expectancy, sunshine, working hours, cost of living, and the friendliness of locals.

Based on these key elements, iVisa has compiled a list of the world’s happiest cities.

So, which one was the winner?

Lisbon ranked first, with 2,801 hours of sunshine per year and a work week that averaged around 31 hours.
It was also named the second friendliest city.

Barcelona came in second place, with an average life expectancy of 84 years. Furthermore, residents work even fewer hours than in Lisbon (at 30 hours per week), and the city was ranked 11th out of 40 in terms of cost of living.

Athens, Europe’s oldest capital, came in third place, praised for its many hours of sunshine and ranking third for friendly locals.

Overall, mainland Europe performed exceptionally well in the ranking, with Rome and Madrid both ranking among the top ten.
Could the UK’s poor performance be attributed to a lack of sunlight? Our rainy cities didn’t make the top 10, but friendly, laid-back Brighton came in at 13 and Cardiff came in at 19.

Other cities in the top ten included Sydney, Toronto, San José, Istanbul, and Bangkok.
So, if you’re thinking about moving abroad for a year or two – or even just taking a trip – these cities should be at the top of your list.