Vienna, Austria, often hailed for its beauty, has once again been named the most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU, affiliated with The Economist, evaluated 173 cities worldwide on health care, culture and environment, stability, infrastructure, and education.
Top Cities and Scores
- Vienna: Topped the list for the third year in a row, with perfect scores in four out of five categories, only falling short in culture and environment due to a lack of significant sporting events.
- Copenhagen, Denmark: Held its second-place position.
- Zurich, Switzerland: Moved up from sixth to third place.
- Melbourne, Australia: Dropped from third to fourth place.
- Calgary, Canada & Geneva, Switzerland: Tied for fifth place.
- Vancouver, Canada & Sydney, Australia: Shared seventh place.
- Osaka, Japan & Auckland, New Zealand: Rounded out the top ten, tying for ninth place.
Regional Performances
- Western Europe: Scored an average of 92 out of 100, despite a decline in stability scores due to increased disruptive protests and crime.
- North America: Achieved the highest average score for education. However, infrastructure scores dropped, particularly in Canada, due to an acute housing crisis.
- Honolulu, Hawaii: The highest-ranked US city at 23rd place.
- Atlanta, Georgia: Improved to 29th place.
- Los Angeles: Ranked 58th.
- New York: Ranked 70th.
Notable Movements
- Vancouver: Slightly declined but remained in the top ten.
- Toronto: Dropped from ninth place to 12th.
- London, UK: Ranked 45th.
- Hong Kong: Improved from 61st to 50th place due to better stability and health care scores.
- UAE Cities: Abu Dhabi and Dubai saw significant increases in their rankings.
- Saudi Arabia’s Cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar also climbed the list.
- Tel Aviv, Israel: Dropped 20 places to 112th, impacted by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Challenges and Trends
- Stability Decline: Global liveability saw a slight increase, but stability risks remain due to high inflation, interest rates, and economic challenges, leading to frequent global protests.
- Lowest Rankings: Damascus, Syria, remained the least liveable city, followed by Tripoli (Libya), Algiers (Algeria), and Lagos (Nigeria). These cities saw no improvement since 2023.
2024’s Global Liveability Index: The Top 10
- Vienna, Austria
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Melbourne, Australia
- Calgary, Canada
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Sydney, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Osaka, Japan
- Auckland, New Zealand
These rankings reflect the EIU’s comprehensive evaluation of cities’ living conditions, highlighting the places offering the best quality of life globally.
