Vienna, Austria has emerged as the world’s most liveable city, followed by Melbourne, according to The Economist’s Global Liveability Index 2018. This is the first time a European City has ranked first on the survey. Vienna beat Melbourne, Australia, which had been ranked the world’s best city for 7 straight years.
The Annual Report ranks 140 global cities based on factors such as political and social stability, culture, healthcare, cleanliness, crime, education, and per capita income. The list is largely dominated by Australian and Canadian cities, with 3 cities from each country on the top 10 list. None of the Indian cities featured in the ranking.
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Several European cities saw a rise in their score, which analysts believe is because of greater security measures. 2018 marked a relatively stable year for the EU after a series of terrorist attacks in several European cities in 2016 and 2017.
Manchester, in England, recorded one of the biggest improvements in their rankings, which has been attributed to the remarkable way in which the city has recovered after 2017’s Manchester Arena bombing. Survey editor Roxana Slavcheva said Manchester had “shown resilience in the city’s recovery from a recent, high-profile terrorist attack, which previously shook up stability”.
Meanwhile, Asian cities too jumped up in rankings. The Japanese cities of Osaka and Tokyo came in number 3 and 7 respectively. These cities have made several improvements in their already superior public transportation and infrastructure. There was also a notable decline in crime.
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On the other end of the spectrum, Damascus in Syria has been ranked as the least liveable city, with Dhaka Bangladesh coming in second. Analysts claimed that war, crime, civil unrest, and terrorism were the major factors in determining the rank of these cities.
The ten most liveable cities in 2018
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Osaka, Japan
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Sydney, Australia
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Tokyo, Japan
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Adelaide, Australia
The ten least liveable cities 2018
1. Damascus, Syria
2. Dhaka, Bangladesh
3. Lagos, Nigeria
4. Karachi, Pakistan
5. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
6. Harare, Zimbabwe
7. Tripoli, Libya
8. Douala, Cameroon
9. Algiers, Algeria
10. Dakar, Senegal
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