The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister organization of the Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world based on a number of important factors such as health care, culture and environment, stability, infrastructure and education.
O Vienna topped the list for the third year running, receiving “excellent” scores in four of the five categories – the city received a lower rating for culture and atmosphere due to its apparent lack of major sporting events.
Vienna is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world to visit and it looks like it could also be an unbeatable place to live.
Excellent rating
Just behind the Austrian capital Copenhagen, Denmark maintained second place, while Zurich in Switzerland rose from sixth to third place on the list.
Melbourne, Australia, dropped from third to fourth place, while the Canadian city of Calgary tied for fifth place with Geneva, Switzerland.
Vancouver, Canada, and Sydney, Australia, came in seventh place, while Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand, completed the top ten, in ninth place.
While Western Europe performed well, with 30 cities achieving an average score of 92 out of 100, the region saw an overall drop in stability scores, attributed to “increased cases of disruptive demonstrations” and crime.
At 23rd, Honolulu, Hawaii, was the highest American city on the list, while Atlanta, Georgia, moved up four spots to 29th.
Los Angeles was further down the list at 58th, while New York came in at 70th.
“Acute housing crisis”
O North America achieved the highest average score in education. However, the infrastructure score was lower than the previous year in Canada due to the “acute housing crisis”, which affected several regions.
“The situation is particularly worrying in Australia and the Canadawhere the availability of rental properties is at a historically low level and purchase prices have continued to increase despite interest rate increases,” the report stated.
Vancouver fell back, remaining in the top 10, and Toronto (ninth on the list in 2023) fell from the top 10 to 12th.
The capital of the United Kingdom, the Londonranked as the 45th most livable city in the world.
In AsiaHong Kong saw the biggest improvement in its ranking since last year, moving from 61st to 50th thanks to improved stability and healthcare scores.
The cities of the United Arab Emirates saw some of the biggest score increases this year, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai moving up the list, while Riyadh, Jeddah and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hobar also saw significant growth.
About that, Tel Aviv, Israel suffered one of the biggest falls, falling 20 places in 112th place because of the Israel-Hamas war.
Decline in stability
“Global prosperity grew modestly over the past year, but risks to stability remain,” said Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy director of industry at the EIU.
“Still-high inflation, coupled with high interest rates and other economic headwinds, have led to another year of frequent protests around the world.”
There was little change at the end of the list, with Damascus, Syria still ranks as the least liveable city in the world, with Tripoli, Libya, Algiers, Algeria and Lagos, Nigeria, just above it.
The study noted that none of the bottom four cities saw an improvement in their overall score from 2023 onwards.
Top 10
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Melbourne, Australia
5. Calgary, Canada
5. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Sydney, Australia
7. Vancouver, Canada
9. Osaka, Japan
9. Auckland, New Zealand
Source: CNN