Vienna, Austria continues to hold its position as the world’s most liveable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2024. This is the third consecutive year that Vienna has claimed the title, scoring highest across various categories including stability, health care, education, and infrastructure. Despite leading the pack, Vienna faced a minor setback in the culture and environment categories due to a lack of major sporting events, according to the report.
Apart from Vienna, the top 10 most liveable cities for 2024 include Copenhagen, Denmark in second place, followed by Zurich, Switzerland. Other notable cities on the list are Melbourne and Sydney from Australia, Calgary and Vancouver from Canada, Osaka from Japan, Geneva from Switzerland, and Auckland from New Zealand. This year, Asian cities such as Osaka and Auckland made it to the top rankings, reflecting the growing livability scores in the region.
The report highlights the performance of different regions in terms of livability. While Western Europe emerged as the best-performing region with an overall score of 92 out of 100, it experienced a decline compared to the previous year due to increased protests and crime affecting stability. North America followed as the second best region, excelling in education but facing challenges in infrastructure due to the housing crisis in Canada. The Asian region showed significant progress in livability scores, with cities like Hong Kong and Singapore recording considerable improvements.
Despite progress in various Asian cities, Indian cities have experienced a decline in livability scores primarily due to poor air quality and infrastructure challenges. The report acknowledges the government’s focus on infrastructure development but highlights the need for sustained efforts to address structural and climatic issues affecting liveability in the country.
The stability category witnessed a significant decline in the latest report, attributed to geopolitical conflicts, civil unrest, and ongoing housing crises and crime rates in many cities. This decline impacted cities worldwide, with some regions facing more challenges in maintaining stability than others.
The bottom 10 cities in the livability rankings are dominated by cities in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa regions. Cities like Damascus, Syria, and Tripoli, Libya, ranked lowest due to civil unrest impacting their economies. Similarly, the city of Kyiv in Ukraine faced challenges following Russia’s invasion in 2022, affecting its liveability rankings. Tel Aviv, the Israeli capital, experienced a significant decline this year due to the ongoing war with Hamas, resulting in a drop of 20 places in the rankings.
The global liveability index provides insights into the challenges and progress experienced by cities worldwide. While some regions have shown significant improvements in livability scores, others continue to grapple with issues related to stability, infrastructure, and environment. As cities strive to enhance their liveability standards, sustained efforts and targeted interventions are essential to address the evolving needs of urban populations.