The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently unveiled its highly anticipated list of the ‘Most Liveable Cities in the World 2023’. Through an evaluation of five metrics, including healthcare, culture, environment, education, and stability, this ranking offers insights into the cities that excel in providing an exceptional quality of life.
This year, the index covered 172 cities and for the second year in a row, Vienna, Austria, has been named the best city to live in the world.
The Global Liveability Index 2023 attributed Vienna’s success to its “unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment.”
Denmark’s capital Copenhagen also retained its second-place position in the list. Following it are two Australian cities, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.
“The Australian cities, which bounced up and down the rankings during the pandemic, are now in third and fourth place. They have seen their scores in the healthcare category improve since last year when they were still affected by Covid waves that stressed their healthcare systems,” wrote the authors of the report.
Three Canadian cities – Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto — also made it to the top ten list. From Asia, Japan’s Osaka was ranked number 10 in the rankings.
Calgary is ranked at number 7 on the list of Most Livable Cities in the World. (Pic source: Pixabay) Calgary is ranked at number 7 on the list of Most Livable Cities in the World. (Pic source: Pixabay)
According to EIU, the index rose last year to reach a 15-year high as the world recovered from the pandemic. The average index score is now 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 a year ago. Despite overall growth in the index score, stability saw a marginal decline.
“Of the five categories covered by our index, only stability has seen a decline,” said Barsali Bhattacharyya, Industry Research Manager, EIU.
Osaka Japan Japan’s Osaka is ranked at number in the Top 10 Most Livable Cities in the World. It is the only Asian city on the list.
It is because of instances of civil unrest in many cities amid a cost-of-living crisis and an uptick in crimes in some cities. The EIU added that those in Western Europe in particular, have slipped in rankings due to increased instances of workers’ strikes — failing to “match gains” made by cities in Asia and the Middle East.
