News Excerpt:
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes its Global Liveability Index, evaluating 173 cities globally. This index reveals how comfortable these cities are to live in.
More About News:
- This index is based on 30 indicators spread across categories such as stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure.
- The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister organization of The Economist.
- Overall, the report indicates a slight improvement in the livability scores across the 173 cities surveyed, with the average score increasing to 76.1 out of 100.
- This suggests a marginal enhancement in the quality of life for urban residents worldwide.
Top Cities in The Index:
- For the third year in a row, Vienna led the rankings, achieving perfect scores in four out of five categories, with a lower score in culture and environment due to a lack of major sporting events.
- Copenhagen, Denmark, held its second-place position, while Zurich, Switzerland, rose from sixth to third place.
- Melbourne, Australia, dropped from third to fourth, and Calgary, Canada, tied for fifth with Geneva, Switzerland.
- Top 10 most livable cities in the world -
- Vienna, Austria
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Melbourne, Australia
- Calgary, Canada
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Sydney, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Osaka, Japan
- Auckland, New Zealand
Key Findings of The Index:
- Western Europe remains the most livable region, excelling in four key categories.
- North America follows closely, ranking second overall and leading in education.
- The Asia-Pacific region, in third place, has seen only slight improvements in its livability scores.
- Eastern Europe has experienced the most significant improvement, largely due to advancements in healthcare and education.
- Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Sub-Saharan Africa have also recorded higher scores in healthcare and education.
- Asia’s 10 most livable cities:
- Melbourne, Australia (4th globally)
- Sydney, Australia (7th)
- Osaka, Japan (9th tie)
- Auckland, New Zealand (9th tie)
- Adelaide, Australia (11th)
- Tokyo, Japan (14th)
- Perth, Australia (15th)
- Brisbane, Australia (16th)
- Wellington, New Zealand (20th)
- Singapore, Singapore (26th)
Indian City in The Index:
- The report notably features five Indian cities. Delhi and Mumbai are tied at the 141st rank with a score of 60.2 out of 100, followed by Chennai (59.9), Ahmedabad (58.9), and Bengaluru (58.7) in the index.
Challenges:
- Despite these modest improvements, many cities around the world still face significant challenges, including geopolitical conflicts, civil unrest, and housing crises, which hinder their ability to achieve higher livability standards.
- Indian cities saw a decline in livability scores, primarily due to poor air quality. The EIU noted that while infrastructure development is a government priority, improvements will take time due to the country's vast size and geography.
The Least Livable Cities:
- The least livable cities are mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa regions.
- Damascus, Syria, and Tripoli, Libya, ranked lowest due to civil unrest impacting their economies.
- Kyiv, Ukraine, was the ninth least livable city as it deals with ongoing armed conflict following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
- Tel Aviv experienced the most significant drop, falling 20 places to 112th globally, due to its war with Hamas.
