Vienna Tops the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Global Liveability Index

Vienna has once again been named the most liveable city in the world for 2024, according to the latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). This marks the third consecutive year that the Austrian capital has led the rankings, which evaluate 173 cities globally on various criteria including healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, and stability.

Copenhagen, Denmark, holds its position at second place, while Zurich, Switzerland, has climbed to third, pushing Melbourne, Australia, down to fourth. The Canadian city of Calgary and Geneva, Switzerland, are tied for fifth place.

Other cities making the top ten include Sydney and Vancouver, tied for seventh, and Osaka, Japan, alongside Auckland, New Zealand, in joint ninth place. This year’s index shows strong performance particularly from Western European cities, which had an average score of 92 out of 100.

Despite high scores in education, North American cities faced challenges with infrastructure due to an acute housing crisis affecting availability and pricing, significantly impacting Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto, the latter dropping out of the top ten to twelfth place this year.

The highest-ranked U.S. city is Honolulu, Hawaii, at 23rd place, with Atlanta, Georgia, also climbing to 29th. Major cities like Los Angeles and New York were ranked lower, at 58th and 70th respectively.

Hong Kong showed the most improvement in Asia, moving up to 50th place, credited to gains in stability and healthcare. Conversely, Tel Aviv, Israel, saw a significant drop, falling 20 places to 112th due to ongoing regional conflicts impacting its stability score.

The report highlights ongoing global challenges, noting that high inflation and economic pressures have led to widespread protests, indicating persistent risks to global liveability. The bottom of the index remains unchanged, with Damascus, Syria, maintaining its position as the least liveable city in the world, closely followed by cities in Libya, Algeria, and Nigeria.

The EIU’s liveability index provides a snapshot of living conditions and the challenges cities around the world face in maintaining and improving the quality of life for their residents amid varying economic and social conditions.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, The Economist