Melbourne in Australia has once again topped the list of the world’s most livable cities, beating Vienna and Vancouver to the top spot to claim the title for the third year running.
The 2013 Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Survey, which was published yesterday, reveals that the top cities in the world in terms of liveability remain unchanged from the previous year, with cities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand cities landing eight of the top 10 spots on the annual list.
This year’s report once again shows that the best cities in the world in which to live are medium in size and located in rich, politically stable countries that have relatively low population densities. It is no surprise to see the city of Damascus at the bottom of the list as a result of the recent political turmoil and civil war in Syria.
In order to produce the survey, the Economist Intelligence Unit completed a survey of 140 cities throughout the world in which they examined the political and economic structure and stability, healthcare, education and infrastructure on offer in each location. Each category was scored and weighted to give every city examined a score out of 100. The higher the score, the more liveable the city. Melbourne, which took the top spot on the liveability index, scored 97.5 out of 100, while Damascus scored just 38.4.
The results of this year’s Global Liveability Survey remained relatively unchanged since last year. Madrid dropped five places as a result of “unrest and protests” and Bratislava, Slovakia, moved into the top rankings in position number 63.
The liveability list also highlighted the cities with the most improved scores over the last five years.
Economist Intelligence Unit Global Liveability Survey
Top 10 most liveable cities
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Melbourne | Australia |
| 2 | Vienna | Austria |
| 3 | Vancouver | Canada |
| 4 | Toronto | Canada |
| 5 | Calgary | Canada |
| Adelaide | Australia | |
| 7 | Sydney | Australia |
| 8 | Helsinki | Finland |
| 9 | Perth | Australia |
| 10 | Auckland | New Zealand |
Bottom 10 least liveable cities
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Tehran | Iran |
| 2 | Douala | Cameroon |
| 3 | Tripoli | Libya |
| 4 | Karachi | Pakistan |
| 5 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 6 | Harare | Zimbabwe |
| 7 | Lagos | Nigeria |
| 8 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea |
| 9 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 10 | Damascus | Syria |
The 10 most improved cities over the past five years
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Bogota | Colombia |
| 2 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates |
| 3 | Kuwait City | Kuwait |
| 4 | Taipei | Taiwan |
| 5 | Bratislava | Slovakia |
| 6 | Harare | Zimbabwe |
| 7 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 8 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 9 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 10 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia |
Read the full article: http://www.eiu.com/site_info.asp?info_name=The_Global_Liveability_Report
