East Midlands city revealed as one of ‘happiest’ places in the world in new 2025 global guide

An East Midlands city has been named as one of the happiest in the world, according to a new study.

The Happy City Index has released its 2025 guide filled with 200 places across the globe - and Leicester is on the list.

What makes a happy city?

The Happy City Index define happy places as being ‘committed to cultivating and growing happiness, where education, inclusive policies, the economy, mobility, environmental protection, access to green areas, and innovation are not only important components of official policies but are also evident in the solutions implemented - these solutions should be tangible for residents and have a direct impact on their quality of life.’

Leicester came in at number 188 with a total of 566 points.

By comparison, Copenhagen in Denmark was crowned the happiest city with 1,039 points.

It was closely followed by Zurich in Switzerland with 993 points in second place, and Singapore (city) in Singapore with 979 points.

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Leicester is a vibrant East Midlands city with plenty of top attractions such as the National Space Centre and the magnificent Roman Jewry Wall. The heritage rich city is also the final resting place of King Richard III which made global headlines in 2012.

The city is also immortalised on the silver screen, providing the beautiful backdrop to TV shows and films such as Adrian Mole and The Crown.

The happy city guide is an annual study taking into account the past year’s activities that may impact cities’ landscape.

Speaking about challenges, the Happy City Index wrote: ‘Every year has its highs and lows, and the past year was no exception.

‘This included debates related to AI, polarizations around the globe and aftershocks of the pandemic, such as the increased focus on wellbeing in public debate.

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‘The challenges of today’s world are complex, requiring a holistic approach and tailored solutions. We all know it’s better to prevent than to cure. Strong leadership in the implementation of wellbeing policies is more crucial now than ever.

‘Policymakers are often perceived as slow to react and quick to be blamed, but we believe this is often an unfair bias, especially concerning local leaders. Local governments have a direct and significant impact on people’s everyday lives and, consequently, their happiness—our shared fundamental human goal.’

To see the full list of all 200 happiest cities in the world click here.