Vienna, Austria is the most “livable” city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Global Liveability Index.
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For the third year in a row, Vienna, the capital of Austria, is the world’s most livable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The annual report aims to show how comfortable or livable a city is and examines 173 cities globally based on 30 indicators arranged into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Thanks to perfect scores for stability, healthcare, education and infrastructure, Vienna tops this year’s list, closely followed by Western European cities: Copenhagen, Denmark in second place and Zurich, Switzerland in third.
Vienna’s overall score, despite reaching the top of the list, was slightly affected in the culture and environment categories, “due to a lack of major sporting events”, according to the EIU. Global livability index 2024.
“The EIU Liveability Index has improved slightly over the past year,” the report said. “Deteriorations in stability and infrastructure in some cities in advanced economies have been offset by structural improvements in health and education in some cities in developing markets.”
Below are the 10 most livable cities in the world, according to the EIU.
- Vienna, Austria
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Melbourne, Australia
- Calgary, Canada
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Sydney, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Osaka, Japan
- Auckland City, New Zealand
Four Asia-Pacific cities made the top 10 this year: Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney, as well as Osaka, Japan and Auckland, New Zealand.
Melbourne, Sydney and Vancouver made the top 10 this year, but dropped “due to significant shortages in housing supply”, the EIU said. For the same reason, Toronto dropped to 12th place this year, after being in the top 10 for the previous two years.
Western Europe performed best globally for liveability, scoring a total of 92 out of 100 points, however, according to the report, this was down from last year due to protests and crime. Increased violations, affecting stable items.
North America was the second best region, scoring an average of 90.5 out of 100 and ranking highest for education. However, Canada’s ongoing housing crisis dragged down the region’s infrastructure score, the EIU said.
10 most livable cities in Asia
Asian cities continue to rise in their global liveability scores, with Hong Kong making the biggest jump in this year’s study, rising from 61st to 50th place.
“While not yet completely back to pre-2019 scores, Hong Kong’s political landscape has [stabilized]with the risk of disruption from mass protests currently negligible,” according to the EIU.
“The national security law and local regulations introduced earlier in 2024 have restored political stability, but this change in score reflects a huge trade-off for Hong Kong’s civil society, as evidenced by the city’s drop in our own Democracy Index,” the EIU said.
10 most livable cities in Asia:
- Melbourne, Australia (4th globally)
- Sydney, Australia (Saturday)
- Osaka, Japan (tied for 9th)
- Auckland, New Zealand (tie 9th)
- Adelaide, Australia (11th)
- Tokyo, Japan (14th)
- Perth, Australia (15th)
- Brisbane, Australia (16th)
- Wellington, New Zealand (20th)
- Singapore, Singapore (26th)
Singapore, ranked 26th in the world, also recorded a leap and was the second largest growth country in the past 12 months. Notably, this small Southeast Asian country scored a perfect 100 in the health care category.
The Japanese cities of Osaka and Tokyo also made the top 10 list in Asia. “As the most populous city among the top 20, Tokyo deserves additional recognition for its ability to maintain high standards of public service delivery and security for a huge population,” the EIU said. giant”.
However, Indian cities have dropped in livability scores, partly due to the country’s poor air quality. According to the EIU, “Infrastructure development is also a priority for the government, but given the country’s size and geographical location, it will take time to improve.”
“Of the 58 Asian cities in the index, 16 have achieved the highest level of liveability (score above 80), said Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy industry director at the EIU.
“However, 11 Asian cities scored below 60, which we define as severely limited liveability, as they struggle with structural, political and climate problems that are difficult to overcome,” she said.
According to the report, this year, the stability category recorded the largest decline of all five categories, held back by geopolitical conflict, civil unrest, as well as the ongoing housing crisis and crime. crime in many cities surveyed.
The least populated city
The final top 10 is dominated by cities in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region. According to the report, Damascus, Syria and Tripoli, Libya were ranked as the two cities with the lowest living standards after civil unrest devastated their economies.
The city of Kyiv in Ukraine was ranked the 9th most livable city in the world as the country continues to grapple with active armed conflict following Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, is the biggest faller this year, falling 20 places to 112th globally due to the ongoing war with Hamas since October 7. More than 1,200 people are on the Israeli side were killed, while more than 1,200 people on the Israeli side were killed. 37,000 Palestinians are believed to have died, according to the United Nations.
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