Canberra is the only Australian city to make the 2025 Copenhagenize Index, a metric that measures how bike-friendly cities are around the world.
The respected global metric, supported by EIT Urban Mobility and co-funded by the European Union, ranks 100 major cities from 44 countries on their bicycle-friendliness.
Bicycle-friendliness was assessed on the basis of three pillars and 13 indicators within those pillars:
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safe and connected infrastructure (bike infrastructure, bike parking, traffic calming, safety measures)
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usage and reach (what percentage of traffic is bikes, whether this percentage has grown, women's share of bike trips, bike share systems, cargo bikes)
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policy and support (political commitments, advocacy, public image of the bicycle, urban planning)
Cities were given a score between 0 and 100 for each indicator, which were then averaged (giving equal weight to each indicator) to provide a total score between 0 and 100.
European cities topped the list, with Utrecht (overall score of 71.1), Copenhagen (70.8), Ghent (67.6), Amsterdam (66.6) and Paris (65.0) leading the ranks.
Canberra came in 80th place, with an overall score of 28.3.
No other Australian cities made the top 100, although five had been discounted for evaluation (Adelaide, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney), due to low cycling modal share or insufficient data availability.
The index states that "Beyond climate or topography, the strongest predictor of cycling success is continued investment supported by effective, interdepartmental governance.
"Cities that treat cycling as a system – integrating infrastructure, communication and monitoring – consistently achieve higher and more stable results."
Clotilde Imbert, CEO at Copenhagenize, said: "The Copenhagenize Index 2025 – EIT Urban Mobility Edition shows that cycling policy has reached a new level of global maturity.
"Around the world, cycling is now understood not as a marginal transport choice, but as a strategic tool for climate action, public health, and improving quality of life."
If only Australian policy-makers would keep pace with global trends and make it a priority.
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