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

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) ranks as the world's cleanest monitored city with a composite US AQI of 8 and PM2.5 of just 1.9 µg/m³ — well below the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. Other top contenders include Whitehorse (Canada), Yellowknife (Canada), and remote Pacific island capitals.

What does AQI mean and how is it calculated?

The US AQI (Air Quality Index) converts measured pollutant concentrations into a 0–500 scale. 0–50 is Good (green), 51–100 is Moderate, 101–150 is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 151–200 is Unhealthy, and higher values are Very Unhealthy or Hazardous. This site uses a composite AQI calculated as the maximum AQI across PM2.5, PM10, NO2, ozone and CO for each city.

Which continent has the cleanest air overall?

Oceania and North America consistently rank as the continents with the cleanest air quality. Remote Pacific island nations (Palau, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Micronesia) record some of the lowest PM2.5 concentrations on Earth. In North America, cities in Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories lead the global rankings.

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

The WHO 2021 annual guideline for PM2.5 is 5 µg/m³. Cities below this threshold offer the healthiest long-term air for residents. A US AQI of 0–50 (PM2.5 below 9 µg/m³) is classified as Good. For comparison, many European and North American cities with Good AQI average 5–15 µg/m³, while polluted Asian cities can exceed 50–100 µg/m³ annually.

Cleanest Cities in Africa & Middle East 2026

Cleanest Cities in Africa & Middle East 2026 — Air Quality Rankings

Top 17 Cleanest Cities in Africa & Middle East by Air Quality

#	City	Continent	AQI	PM2.5
1	Georgetown, Ascension Island	Africa & Middle East	AQI 11	PM2.5 2.6 µg/m³
2	Jamestown, Saint Helena	Africa & Middle East	AQI 13	PM2.5 3.1 µg/m³
3	Victoria, Seychelles	Africa & Middle East	AQI 23	PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
4	São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe	Africa & Middle East	AQI 24	PM2.5 5.7 µg/m³
5	Moroni, Comoros	Africa & Middle East	AQI 28	PM2.5 6.7 µg/m³
6	Port Louis, Mauritius	Africa & Middle East	AQI 36	PM2.5 8.5 µg/m³
7	Saint-Denis, Réunion	Africa & Middle East	AQI 38	PM2.5 9 µg/m³
8	Praia, Cape Verde	Africa & Middle East	AQI 46	PM2.5 11 µg/m³
9	Eilat, Israel	Africa & Middle East	AQI 48	PM2.5 11.5 µg/m³
10	Windhoek, Namibia	Africa & Middle East	AQI 54	PM2.5 13 µg/m³
11	Mamoudzou, Mayotte	Africa & Middle East	AQI 55	PM2.5 14 µg/m³
12	Haifa, Israel	Africa & Middle East	AQI 57	PM2.5 15 µg/m³
13	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Africa & Middle East	AQI 59	PM2.5 14.5 µg/m³
14	Cape Town, South Africa	Africa & Middle East	AQI 63	PM2.5 16 µg/m³
15	Antananarivo, Madagascar	Africa & Middle East	AQI 64	PM2.5 18.5 µg/m³
16	Johannesburg, South Africa	Africa & Middle East	AQI 86	PM2.5 28.9 µg/m³
17	Manama, Bahrain	Africa & Middle East	AQI 101	PM2.5 35.7 µg/m³