Vienna, Austria beat out perennial champ Melbourne, Australia for top honors as the world’s most liveable city, according to the Global Liveability Index. Melbourne had topped the list for seven years.
The index, published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit, developed by The Economist magazine, ranks cities on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
While cities are always happy to list their high places on the list, there has been criticism that since those surveyed are largely Economist subscribers, the list tends to be anglo-centric and subjective.
Below, the top 10 and the bottom 10. In case you’re wondering about the cities not on either list: Paris came in at 19, London at 48 and New York at 57 out of 140 cities.
The world’s most liveable cities
- Vienna (Austria) – 99.1 (+1 place)
- Melbourne (Australia) – 98.4 (-1)
- Osaka (Japan) – 97.7 (+8)
- Calgary (Canada) – 97.5 (+1)
- Sydney (Australia) – 97.4 (+6)
- Vancouver (Canada) – 97.3 (-3)
- Toronto (Canada) – 97.2 (-4)
- Tokyo (Japan) – 97.2 (+6)
- Copenhagen (Denmark) – 96.8 (+11)
- Adelaide (Australia) – 96.6 (-5)
The world’s most liveable cities
- Damascus (Syria) – 30.7
- Dhaka (Bangladesh) – 38
- Lagos (Nigeria) – 38.5
- Karachi (Pakistan) – 40.9
- Port Moresby (PNG) – 41
- Harare (Zimbabwe) – 42.6
- Tripoli (Libya) – 42.9
- Douala (Cameroon) – 44
- Algiers (Algeria) – 44.1
- Dakar (Senegal) – 48.3
Any City that doesn’t have temperatures within my “Comfort Zone” is a big “No”.
Given the choice I think most people would not choose to live in a City.
I can commute into the City in 15 mins using Public Transport – which is free to me. Or anywhere else in England. Free.
Glad to see my current home city at #4, but not a single USA city on the list — unbelievable bias.