The most liveable cities in the world in 2024

CNN
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Vienna is considered one of the most beautiful tourist cities in the world and seems to be a great place to live too.

The Austrian city has once again been named the world’s most liveable city in an annual list published today by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The EIU, a sister organisation of The Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world based on several key factors, including healthcare, culture, environment, stability, infrastructure and education.

Vienna topped the list for the third year in a row, receiving perfect scores in four out of five categories, although the city received low marks for culture and environment as it hosted few notable sporting events.

Behind the Austrian capital, Denmark’s Copenhagen maintained its second place, while Switzerland’s Zurich rose from sixth to third place.

Melbourne, Australia, dropped from third to fourth place, while Calgary, Canada, was tied with Geneva, Switzerland, in fifth place.

Vancouver, Canada and Sydney, Australia tied for seventh place, while Osaka, Japan and Auckland, New Zealand rounded out the top 10 in joint ninth place.

Western Europe performed well with an average score of 92 out of 100 across its 30 cities, but the region saw an overall decline in stability scores which was attributed to “increased disruptive protests” and rising crime.

Honolulu, Hawaii, at 23rd place, is the highest-ranked U.S. city, while Atlanta, Georgia, rose four places to 29th.

Los Angeles ranked even lower at 58th, and New York ranked 70th.

North America received the highest average score in education, but Canada’s infrastructure score was lower than last year due to a “serious housing crisis” that is affecting several regions.

“The situation is particularly worrying in Australia and Canada, where rental property supply is at its lowest on record and purchase prices continue to rise despite rising interest rates,” the report said.

Vancouver remains in the top 10 but drops down a position, while Toronto (No. 9 on the 2023 list) drops out of the top 10 to No. 12.

The UK capital, London, was ranked 45th among the most liveable cities in the world.

In Asia, Hong Kong recorded its biggest score improvement since last year, moving up from 61st to 50th thanks to improved scores in stability and healthcare.

Cities in the United Arab Emirates saw the biggest score increases this year, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai climbing the rankings, while Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar also saw significant gains.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Tel Aviv was one of the biggest drop-off cities, dropping 20 places to 112th due to the impact of the Israel-Hamas war.

“Global livability has increased slightly over the past year, but risks to stability remain,” said Balsali Bhattacharya, deputy industry director at the EIU.

“Still-high inflation, high interest rates and other economic headwinds have led to frequent protests around the world this year.”

There was little change at the bottom of the list, with Damascus in Syria still ranked as the world’s least liveable city, with Tripoli in Libya, Algiers in Algeria and Lagos in Nigeria ranked just above it.

The study noted that none of the bottom four cities are expected to improve their overall scores after 2023.

“Since we conducted the survey, we have seen an increase in civil unrest and demonstrations around the world, including protests on college campuses across the United States, suggesting that stresses on livability are unlikely to ease in the near future,” Bhattacharya said.

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

3. Zurich, Switzerland

4. Melbourne, Australia

5. Calgary, Canada

5. Geneva, Switzerland

7. Sydney, Australia

7. Vancouver, Canada

9. Osaka, Japan

9. Auckland, New Zealand