Vancouver has been crowned the happiest city in North America, and the 11th happiest city in the world in an annual global ranking. The Happy City Index, a renowned annual assessment by the London-based Institute for Quality of Life, ranks 200 cities from across the world on their liveability, happiness and wellbeing. In addition to being ranked in numerical order the cities are also put into gold, silver and bronze categories, with Vancouver joining another 30 cities as the happiest in the world with gold status. Beating Vancouver to make it into the top 10 was Rotterdam, coming after Munich, Taipei, Stockholm, Seoul, Antwerp, Aarhus, Singapore and Zurich. The happiest city in the world, according to the ranking, was Denmark’s Copenhagen. The 200 cities were ranked via a points system across six categories, including governance, environment, economy, health, mobility and citizens. The latter included subcategories like education and access to cultural institutions, while health – new to the system as of this year – factored in a city’s focus on and accessibility to mental health care, nutrition and work-life balance. Vancouver accumulated a total of 919 points, with 242 awarded for the citizens category, 222 for environment, 168 for governance, 122 for health, 101 for mobility and 65 for economy. “Education and innovation are key pillars of Vancouver’s success,” the Institute for Quality of Life said. “Home to universities ranked among the top 50 globally, the city fosters a strong academic and research-driven culture.” According to the index, 23.10 per cent of Vancouver’s population holds a master’s degree, 69.50 per cent knows at least one foreign language, and 82 per cent has digital skills, all education elements that, according to the index, contributes to a person’s level of joviality. Health and wellbeing are also central to Vancouver’s high quality of life, with 100 per cent of its residents having access to medical insurance and its population having a life expectancy of 84.4 years - one of the highest globally. “Despite an obesity rate of 30 per cent, Vancouver promotes active living through its extensive network of parks and green spaces. Mental health services are available, with 18 per cent of the adult population receiving co-ordinated care,” the index said. Nova Scotia’s Halifax came in as Canada’s second happiest, ranking 148th on the list and landing in the bronze category, while Toronto and Ottawa followed closely behind with 160th and 178th places, respectively. Quebec City also made the top 200, coming in at 193rd.
