Are you looking for a change of scenery, but still crave the buzz of city life? Do you have any idea where on Earth you could make a new home? You might want to start hunting in western Europe or Canada if the latest ranking of the world\u2019s most liveable cities is any guide.<\/p>\n
With Covid-19 fast becoming a fading memory in much of the world, the Economist Intelligence Unit\u2019s Global Liveability Index 2022 is looking a lot like it did in the pre-pandemic days.<\/p>\n
Vienna has re-captured the top spot that it held three years ago, before it slipped to 12th place in 2021 due to the Covid-induced closure of museums and restaurants. The Austrian capital just pipped\u00a0Denmark\u2019s\u00a0Copenhagen to the post, thanks to a higher\u00a0healthcare score, while Switzerland\u2019s Zurich\u00a0and\u00a0Canada\u2019s Calgary and Vancouver round out the top five.<\/p>\n
Languishing at the bottom of 173 cities are Tripoli in Libya, the Nigerian city\u00a0of Lagos and\u00a0Syria\u2019s Damascus.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past two years, EIU\u2019s global liveability rankings have been largely driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, with lockdowns and social distancing measures affecting scores for culture, education and healthcare in cities across the world,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, in our most recent survey, the index has normalised, as restrictions have been lifted in many countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only non-European or Canadian cities to break into the top 10 were Osaka in Japan and Australia\u2019s Melbourne, which came in joint 10th place.<\/p>\n
Other cities Down Under didn\u2019t fare quite so well, the EIU said. Both Australia and New Zealand benefited from closed borders in early 2021, which kept Covid cases down and life relatively normal, but the more infectious strains that ripped through the population later that year disrupted normal life.\u00a0Wellington and Auckland tumbled\u00a046 and 33 places respectively \u2014\u00a0the biggest drops on the list.<\/p>\n
Among the biggest movers in the opposite direction was London, which rose 27 places to take 33rd position, and Los Angeles, up 18 places to 37th place.<\/p>\n
The report noted that China had not yet benefited from the lifting of Covid restrictions\u00a0with outbreaks of the virus leading to strict lockdowns, while Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine meant Kyiv was excluded from the list.<\/p>\n
The EIU said cities were ranked on more than\u00a030 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
These are the top 10 most liveable cities:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1)\u00a0 Vienna, Austria<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0 Copenhagen, Denmark<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0 Zurich, Switzerland<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0 Calgary, Canada<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0 Vancouver, Canada<\/p>\n 6)\u00a0 Geneva, Switzerland<\/p>\n 7)\u00a0 Frankfurt, Germany<\/p>\n 8)\u00a0 Toronto, Canada<\/p>\n 9)\u00a0 Amsterdam, Netherlands<\/p>\n 10)\u00a0 Osaka, Japan<\/p>\n 10)\u00a0 Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n And these are the bottom 10:<\/strong><\/p>\n 163)\u00a0 Tehran, Iran<\/p>\n 164)\u00a0 Douala, Cameroon<\/p>\n 165)\u00a0 Harare, Zimbabwe<\/p>\n 166)\u00a0 Dhaka, Bangladesh<\/p>\n
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