Haifa Ranks Among World's Happiest Cities in New Study

Haifa has been recognized as the sole Israeli city to be included in the "Happiest Cities in the World" ranking, released this week by a British research institute. The city secured the 187th position out of 251 cities evaluated. The study, conducted by the "Institute for Quality of Life," utilized measurable data across various sectors including income, health, urban planning, environment, and governance, eschewing subjective resident surveys.

The research involved 466 academics specializing in quality of life, urbanism, environment, and planning. They analyzed approximately 64 distinct parameters to compare living conditions globally. Key criteria included life expectancy at birth, the number of psychiatrists per capita, GDP per person, crime rates, and investment in urban planning and environmental initiatives.

Copenhagen topped the "gold" category, followed by Helsinki, Geneva, Uppsala, and Tokyo. Haifa, however, was placed in the lower segment of the list at 187th, situated between Tashkent and Split, and above Bratislava and Buenos Aires. Notably, major global cities like London (193rd) and New York (207th) ranked lower than Haifa.

The selection process began with a global pool of around 3,400 cities. Initially, 25 Israeli cities were considered, with 16 proceeding to a deeper analysis. Ultimately, only Haifa and Jerusalem met the criteria for comprehensive, reliable, and transparent data required for further evaluation. Haifa emerged as the only Israeli city to make the final ranking.

The researchers noted that the list is not exhaustive of all major global cities but includes only those for which comparable data was available. This limitation, they suggested, might explain the absence of other Israeli cities.