Every year the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) releases a Liveability Index which rates living conditions in major cities around the world. The index has been compiled for over 20 years since its inaugural survey in 2002. Today, it features 172 of the world’s cities, with an additional 32 cities having been added just last year.
Cities are assessed against five criteria: stability, health care, culture and entertainment, education, and infrastructure. In recent years, the index has also analysed how well cities have and continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Auckland secured first place in 2021 due to low covid cases and minimal restrictions, but a spike in Omicron cases in March last year caused the city to fall a shocking 33 places.
Western European countries continue to dominate the top of the list as the world’s most liveable cities.
Unsurprisingly, many of the Western European cities that featured in the top 10 before covid hit have rebounded. Solid infrastructure and resilient healthcare systems have enabled these countries to achieve high vaccination rates early on. Because of this, they were also able to end full-scale lockdowns and ease restrictions before other countries who were less capable of weathering the storm—helping to buoy scores in culture, entertainment, and education.
The World’s Most and Least Liveable Cities
With its strong infrastructure, rich culture, and overall stability, Vienna topped the rankings for the 3rd time in the last five years. It scored 100/100 in all categories except culture and entertainment (which the EUI measured at 96.3), bringing its overall score to an impressive 99.1/100.
Copenhagen and Zurich follow close behind, which comes as no surprise. Scandinavian countries are renowned for their high quality of living—engendered by low crime and unemployment rates, societal trust, and a focus on sustainable living, amongst other factors.
Three German countries (Frankfurt, Hamburg and Dusseldorf) were the biggest movers. Paris moved up an impressive 23 places to 19th. In the UK, the up-and-coming Northern city of Manchester climbed 26 places to 28th, whilst London gained 27 places, coming in at 33rd.
Whilst western Europe dominates the top, major U.S. cities are also gaining speed with New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC all rising up the rankings.
Scan our eyes over the very bottom of the index, and we can see that it is largely dominated by cities in the Middle East and Africa (7 out of the 10 bottom cities fall into this region). Damascus in Syria ranks last with a score of 30.7, topped by Lagos, Tripoli, Algiers, and Karachi. While these cities scored low in all categories of the index, instability due to war, conflict and terrorism was the main factor for their position at the bottom.
Global average score signals a return to normalcyÂ
The global average liveability score was measured at 73.6, up from 69.1 a year ago. Though still lower than the pre-pandemic average of 75.9, this increase in the global average score signals a return towards normality after several years of pandemic-induced disruption.
In light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the EIU was forced to abort their survey in Kyiv. For this reason, the city could not be included in the Liveability index.
Meanwhile, Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia have taken a dramatic fall to 80th and 88th respectively due to instability, censorship, and the withdrawal of Western firms from the country.
The rankings of Eastern European countries have also been impacted as a result of new geopolitical tensions.
Due to restricted exports of energy and food in Ukraine, inflation rates are at record highs and the cost-of-living crisis wages on around the world. However, recent data suggests that inflation in the eurozone has finally passed its peak and inflated consumer prices are on their way to being brought back under control.
The EIU predicts that global inflation will ease slightly to 6.6% in 2023, from an estimated 9.4% in 2022 (a 26-year high). With this, perhaps we will see Global Liveability exceed its pre-pandemic score in the upcoming 2023 index.
See the full Global Liveability Index 2022.
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