We are gearing up for the next edition of the Happy City Index, which will be unveiled on 20th March 2025. Our team now includes over 120 people from across the globe, and just a few days ago, we finalised the list of indicators to be assessed in this edition. The most significant change in the ranking is the addition of a new category called HEALTH. In this section, we’ll be evaluating cities’ initiatives to support mental health and tackle hate speech. We’ve also addressed the increasingly widespread issue of housing accessibility, along with a few other minor tweaks. You can read all the details here: https://happy-city-index.com/Indicators/happycityindex.html

Each year in September, we begin work on the next edition of the Happy City Index. Around 200 people from around the world are involved in this process, collecting reliable, comparable, and measurable data on the functioning of cities. So far, we have used 76 different indicators, but the 6th edition of the Happy City Index will be different. The list of indicators will be slightly adjusted, with a few new ones added. This is in response to the changing world. On 20th September, we will meet as part of the Scientific Committee of the Institute for Quality of Life to approve the final list. Alongside the 5 Themes: CITIZENS, ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY, GOVERNANCE, and MOBILITY, a 6th area will be introduced. This is now confirmed.

We are starting work on the next edition of the Happy City Index! If you would like to join our team of researchers from around the world, please contact us at contact@institute-ql.com. Each researcher will be given access to a panel for entering city data. In September, we will finalise our list of researchers, and in October and November, we will conduct training and fill in preliminary educational data. The bulk of the work will take place in January, when data for the previous year becomes available. There will then be a break until 20 March, when we will officially announce the results of the next Happy City Index ranking.