While Vancouver faces a variety of issues, it's still one of the happiest cities on Earth.
That's according to the annual Happy City Index from the Institute for Quality of Life, a global think tank focused on sustainable development. When it comes to how happy its citizens are, Vancouver ranked just outside the top 10, in 11th place. It just beat out Vienna and Paris.
"Vancouver, a city renowned for its breathtaking natural surroundings and forward-thinking urban policies, is one of Canada’s most dynamic and diverse metropolises," reads the index's profile of Vancouver.
The list named 31 cities "Gold Cities," which included Vancouver as well.
Vancouver is the highest-ranked North American city on the happiness ranking. European cities dominate the top 10 (including Copenhagen in first and Zurich in second) while a couple of Asian cities make it in (like Singapore in third and Seoul in sixth).
In fact, Vancouver wildly outperformed other Canadian cities, according to the index, which assigned points according to different metrics. For context, Copenhagen finished in first with 1,039 points. Vancouver got 919. Halifax, the second-happiest city in Canada, ranked 148th with 627. Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City also made the list of 200 cities.
To come up with the list, the institute focused just on the city of Vancouver (not the metro area) and used 82 different indicators like cultural infrastructure, affordability, and education in six broad categories (like governance and environment).
As is often the case, Vancouver's score was boosted by the environment, finishing first overall. The city's citizens also helped push Vancouver up (in part thanks to the education and inclusivity of locals). Weaker categories included the economy and governance.
"It is a city that balances economic vitality with environmental stewardship," reads the profile.
