- Damascus in Syria is ranked the lowest in the world’s most liveable cities index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
- Lagos placed 139th out of the 140 cities ranked in the latest liveability survey, just above war-ravaged Damascus.
The survey rates 140 cities on more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure.
At the top of the list is Melbourne, rated the best for the seventh year in a row.
The bottom of the list is dominated by the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Violence, whether through crime, civil insurgency, terrorism or war, plays a strong role.
“Conflict is responsible for many of the lowest scores,” says the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Conflict will not just cause disruption in its own right, it will also damage infrastructure, overburden hospitals and undermine the availability of goods, services and recreational activities.
The top and bottom ten cities:
Below is a ranking of the top and bottom cities surveyed, accompanied by the liveability rating for every city. The liveability score is the combination of all the factors surveyed across the five main categories. Scores are also given for each category.
Lagos, Nigeria; Tripoli, Libya; Dhaka, Bangladesh and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea complete the bottom five.
| The ten least liveable cities | ||||||||
| Country | City | Rank | Overall Rating (100=ideal) | Stability | Healthcare | Culture & Environment |
Education | Infrastructure |
| Ukraine | Kiev | 131 | 47.8 | 35 | 54.2 | 48.6 | 75 | 42.9 |
| Cameroon | Douala | 132 | 44 | 60 | 25 | 48.4 | 33.3 | 42.9 |
| Zimbabwe | Harare | 133 | 42.6 | 40 | 20.8 | 58.6 | 66.7 | 35.7 |
| Pakistan | Karachi | 134 | 40.9 | 20 | 45.8 | 38.7 | 66.7 | 51.8 |
| Algeria | Algiers | 134 | 40.9 | 40 | 45.8 | 42.6 | 50 | 30.4 |
| PNG | Port Moresby | 136 | 39.6 | 30 | 37.5 | 47 | 50 | 39.3 |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka | 137 | 38.7 | 50 | 29.2 | 43.3 | 41.7 | 26.8 |
| Libya | Tripoli | 138 | 36.6 | 20 | 41.7 | 40.3 | 50 | 41.1 |
| Nigeria | Lagos | 139 | 36 | 10 | 37.5 | 53.5 | 33.3 | 46.4 |
| Syria | Damascus | 140 | 30.2 | 15 | 29.2 | 43.3 | 33.3 | 32.1 |
Melbourne has been named the world’s most “liveable” city for the seventh year running.
The capital of the Australian state of Victoria, known for its trendy cafés, bars and laneways, topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 ranking.
The top cities tend to be mid-sized, in wealthier countries, and with a relatively low population density, the report states. “These can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure,” it adds. “ Six of the 10 top-scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, which have, respectively, population densities of 2.9 and 3.7 people per square kilometre. Elsewhere in the top 10, Finland and New Zealand both have densities ranging between 15 and 18 people/sq km of land area. These densities compare with a global average of 57 people/sq km.
“Austria bucks this trend with a density of 106 people/sq km, but compared with megacities such as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, Vienna’s population of nearly 1.8m (2.6m in the metropolitan area) is relatively small. Global business centres tend to be victims of their own success. New York, London, Paris and Tokyo are all prestigious hubs with a wealth of recreational activities, but all suffer from higher levels of crime, congestion and public transport problems than are deemed comfortable.”
| The ten most liveable cities | ||||||||
| Country | City | Rank | Overall Rating (100=ideal) | Stability | Healthcare | Culture & Environment |
Education | Infrastructure |
| Australia | Melbourne | 1 | 97.5 | 95 | 100 | 95.1 | 100 | 100 |
| Austria | Vienna | 2 | 97.4 | 95 | 100 | 94.4 | 100 | 100 |
| Canada | Vancouver | 3 | 97.3 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 92.9 |
| Canada | Toronto | 4 | 97.2 | 100 | 100 | 97.2 | 100 | 89.3 |
| Canada | Calgary | 5 | 96.6 | 100 | 100 | 89.1 | 100 | 96.4 |
| Australia | Adelaide | 5 | 96.6 | 95 | 100 | 94.2 | 100 | 96.4 |
| Australia | Perth | 7 | 95.9 | 95 | 100 | 88.7 | 100 | 100 |
| New Zealand | Auckland | 8 | 95.7 | 95 | 95.8 | 97 | 100 | 92.9 |
| Finland | Helsinki | 9 | 95.6 | 100 | 100 | 88.7 | 91.7 | 96.4 |
| Germany | Hamburg | 10 | 95 | 90 | 100 | 93.5 | 91.7 | 100 |
While the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking puts Melbourne on top, similar studies by other organisations produce different results.
Mercer’s 2017 Quality of Living Ranking, published in March, puts Vienna at number one, with Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver completing the top five.
PwC’s Cities of Opportunity Index has London topping the charts, ahead of Singapore, Toronto, Paris and Amsterdam.
In May, Deutsche Bank produced its first quality of life ranking, with Wellington beating 46 other contenders.
And your favourite city? According to the last 2016 Telegraph Travel Awards, voted for by more than 70,000 Telegraph Travel readers, it’s Cape Town.
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Which really is the world’s best city? |
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| Ranking | PwC | Mercer | The Economist | Telegraph Travel readers |
| 1 | London | Vienna | Melbourne | Cape Town |
| 2 | Paris | Zurich | Vienna | Vancouver |
| 3 | New York | Auckland | Vancouver | Venice |
| 4 | Amsterdam | Munich | Toronto | Sydney |
| 5 | Sydney | Vancouver | Calgary | Tokyo |
| 6 | Berlin | Dusseldorf | Adelaide | New York |
| 7 | Tokyo | Frankfurt | Perth | San Francisco |
| 8 | Toronto | Geneva | Auckland | St Petersburg |
| 9 | Stockholm | Copenhagen | Helsinki | Seville |
| 10 | Los Angeles | Sydney/Bern | Hamburg | Rome |
