Vienna is regarded as one of the most picturesque cities in the world to visit, and it appears that living there is second to none.
The Austrian city has once again been named the world’s most livable city in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual ranking, which was made public today.
The Economist’s sister publication, The EIU, rated 173 cities worldwide based on a wide range of important criteria, such as infrastructure, education, stability, culture and environment, and health care.
Vienna topped the list for the third year in a row, earning “perfect” ratings in four of the five categories; the city’s scores in the environment and culture categories were lower since there didn’t seem to be many major athletic events taking place there.
Switzerland’s Zurich rose from sixth to third on the list, while Denmark’s Copenhagen held its second-place ranking, just behind the Austrian capital.
Melbourne, Australia, dropped from third to fourth position, and Calgary, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland, tied for fifth.
Vancouver, Canada, and Sydney, Australia tied for seventh position, while Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand, closed out the top ten, sharing ninth position.
In 23rd place, Honolulu, Hawaii was the highest US city on the list, while Atlanta, Georgia moved up four places to number 29.
Los Angeles was further down the list in 58th place, while New York came in at No. 70.
Western Europe fared well, with 30 cities averaging 92 out of 100; nonetheless, the region’s stability scores decreased overall, a trend that was linked to “increasing instances of disruptive protests” and crime.
The top ranking US city on the list was Honolulu, Hawaii, at number 23, while Atlanta, Georgia, rose four spots to number 29.
New York came in at number 70, and Los Angeles was ranked even lower, in 58th position.
“Severe housing shortage”
The region with the highest average education score was North America. However, because of “an acute housing crisis” that has plagued multiple regions, Canada’s infrastructure received lower grades this year than it did the year before.
“The situation is particularly worrying in Australia and Canada, where the availability of rental properties is at an all-time low and purchase prices have continued to rise despite interest-rate increases,”
While still ranking in the top 10, Vancouver declined, and Toronto—which was ranked ninth in 2023—fell out of the top 10 and into 12th position.
London, the capital of the UK, was rated as the 45th most livable city worldwide.
Asia’s Hong Kong showed the biggest improvement in scores compared to the previous year, moving up from 61st to 50th position because of increases in its stability and health care rankings.
This year, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai witnessed some of the largest score improvements; Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar also saw notable rises.
Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, Israel’s Tel Aviv saw one of the largest drops, falling 20 spots to rank 112th.
Decline in stability
Little changed at the bottom of the list: Tripoli, Libya; Algiers, Algeria; Lagos, Nigeria; and Damascus, Syria, which continues to be the world’s least livable city.
According to the report, since 2023, none of the bottom four cities’ overall scores have improved.
“Since we conducted our survey, there have been more instances of civil unrest and demonstrations around the world, such as the campus protests across the US, suggesting continuing stress on livability that is unlikely to ease in the near future,” told Bhattacharyya.
The top 10 global livability indexes for 2024
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
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