What is the cleanest city in the world by air quality?

Hanga Roa, Easter Island currently ranks #1 of 5856 with an annual US AQI of 15 (PM2.5 1.9 µg/m³, satellite data), followed by Papeete, French Polynesia (AQI 15). The AQI here is the worst of PM2.5, PM10 and ozone each month, averaged over each city's full record (usually 1998–2024, plus 2025–2026 months where monitors report them; 2025–2026 data are provisional where agencies haven't finalised them).

What does AQI mean and how is it calculated?

The US AQI (Air Quality Index) converts pollutant concentrations into a 0–500 scale using the US EPA's official breakpoints (2024 revision). The EPA's categories are 0–50 Good, 51–100 Moderate, 101–150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 151–200 Unhealthy and above that Very Unhealthy or Hazardous. For each month this site takes the highest AQI of PM2.5, PM10 and ozone, then averages the 12 months. Its colour bands are stricter than the EPA's: 0–30 Excellent (green), 31–60 Reasonable (yellow), 61+ Polluted (red).

Which continent has the cleanest air overall?

By average AQI of the cities on this site: Oceania 30 (77 cities, cleanest Papeete); North America 53 (833 cities, cleanest Nuuk); Europe 58 (859 cities, cleanest Longyearbyen); South America 58 (629 cities, cleanest Hanga Roa); Africa & Middle East 85 (990 cities, cleanest Jamestown); Asia 94 (2468 cities, cleanest Norilsk). Averages depend on which cities are included, so compare individual cities rather than continents.

What is a good PM2.5 level to live in?

The WHO 2021 annual guideline for PM2.5 is 5 µg/m³. Since the EPA's February 2024 revision, PM2.5 up to 9.0 µg/m³ (US AQI 0–50) is classified as Good, and 9.1–35.4 µg/m³ as Moderate.

World's Cleanest Cities 2026 — Global Air Quality Rankings by AQI

Name: World's Cleanest Cities Air Quality Dataset 2026
Creator: World's Cleanest Cities
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

World's Cleanest Cities — Global Air Quality Rankings 2026

World's 50 Cleanest Cities by Air Quality (AQI)

Global rank	City	Continent	AQI	PM2.5
1	Hanga Roa, Easter Island	South America	AQI 15	PM2.5 1.9 µg/m³
2	Papeete, French Polynesia	Oceania	AQI 15	PM2.5 2.3 µg/m³
3	Avarua, Cook Islands	Oceania	AQI 16	PM2.5 2.2 µg/m³
4	Pago Pago, American Samoa	Oceania	AQI 16	PM2.5 2.8 µg/m³
5	South Tarawa, Kiribati	Oceania	AQI 16	PM2.5 2.8 µg/m³
6	Majuro, Marshall Islands	Oceania	AQI 16	PM2.5 2.9 µg/m³
7	Palikir, Micronesia	Oceania	AQI 16	PM2.5 2.9 µg/m³
8	Alofi, Niue	Oceania	AQI 17	PM2.5 2.6 µg/m³
9	Yaren, Nauru	Oceania	AQI 17	PM2.5 3 µg/m³
10	Kingston, Norfolk Island	Oceania	AQI 18	PM2.5 2.9 µg/m³
11	Jamestown, Saint Helena	Africa & Middle East	AQI 18	PM2.5 3 µg/m³
12	Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	AQI 18	PM2.5 3 µg/m³
13	Apia, Samoa	Oceania	AQI 18	PM2.5 3.1 µg/m³
14	Funafuti, Tuvalu	Oceania	AQI 18	PM2.5 3.3 µg/m³
15	Hagåtña, Guam	Oceania	AQI 20	PM2.5 3.4 µg/m³
16	Mata-Utu, Wallis and Futuna	Oceania	AQI 20	PM2.5 3.5 µg/m³
17	Stanley, Falkland Islands	South America	AQI 20	PM2.5 3.5 µg/m³
18	West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Oceania	AQI 20	PM2.5 3.5 µg/m³
19	Nuuk, Greenland	North America	AQI 21	PM2.5 2.1 µg/m³
20	Georgetown, Ascension Island	Africa & Middle East	AQI 21	PM2.5 3.7 µg/m³
21	Nukuʻalofa, Tonga	Oceania	AQI 21	PM2.5 3.7 µg/m³
22	Nouméa, New Caledonia	Oceania	AQI 22	PM2.5 3.7 µg/m³
23	Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Australia	Oceania	AQI 23	PM2.5 3.8 µg/m³
24	Mount Gambier, Australia	Oceania	AQI 23	PM2.5 4.1 µg/m³
25	Port Vila, Vanuatu	Oceania	AQI 24	PM2.5 4.2 µg/m³
26	Victoria, Seychelles	Africa & Middle East	AQI 24	PM2.5 4.4 µg/m³
27	Porto Seguro, Brazil	South America	AQI 25	PM2.5 4.4 µg/m³
28	Mildura, Australia	Oceania	AQI 25	PM2.5 4.5 µg/m³
29	Hobart, Australia	Oceania	AQI 26	PM2.5 4.7 µg/m³
30	Lihue HI, United States of America	North America	AQI 27	PM2.5 3.6 µg/m³
31	Kahului HI, United States of America	North America	AQI 27	PM2.5 4.2 µg/m³
32	Urban Honolulu HI, United States of America	North America	AQI 27	PM2.5 4.3 µg/m³
33	Antsiranana, Madagascar	Africa & Middle East	AQI 27	PM2.5 4.8 µg/m³
34	Bendigo, Australia	Oceania	AQI 28	PM2.5 5 µg/m³
35	Ilhéus, Brazil	South America	AQI 28	PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
36	Koror, Palau	Oceania	AQI 28	PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
37	Launceston, Australia	Oceania	AQI 29	PM2.5 5.2 µg/m³
38	New Plymouth, New Zealand	Oceania	AQI 29	PM2.5 5.2 µg/m³
39	Ballarat, Australia	Oceania	AQI 29	PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
40	Longyearbyen, Svalbard	Europe	AQI 30	PM2.5 1.1 µg/m³
41	Murmansk, Russia	Europe	AQI 30	PM2.5 3.9 µg/m³
42	Hamilton, Bermuda	North America	AQI 30	PM2.5 4.7 µg/m³
43	Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon	North America	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.2 µg/m³
44	Adelaide, Australia	Oceania	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
45	Cairns, Australia	Oceania	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
46	Gold Coast, Australia	Oceania	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
47	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands	North America	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
48	Kerikeri, New Zealand	Oceania	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³
49	Moroni, Comoros	Africa & Middle East	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³
50	Rockhampton, Australia	Oceania	AQI 30	PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³