Vienna, Austria, Tops EIU 2024 Global Liveability Index for Third Year Running

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its 2024 Global Liveability Index, ranking 173 cities worldwide based on factors such as healthcare, culture and environment, stability, infrastructure, and education. Vienna, Austria, was named the most liveable city for the third consecutive year, achieving perfect scores in four of the five categories, despite scoring lower for culture and environment.

Copenhagen, Denmark, retained its second place, while Zurich, Switzerland, moved up to third after being ranked sixth last year. Melbourne, Australia, fell to fourth place, followed by Calgary, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland, both tying for fifth. Vancouver, Canada, and Sydney, Australia, shared the seventh spot. Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand, were tied for ninth.

Western European cities performed well overall, with 30 cities scoring an average of 92 out of 100, despite a regional decline in stability scores due to increased protests and crime. The highest-ranked U.S. city was Honolulu at 23rd, with New York significantly lower at 70th.

North America saw high education scores but faced infrastructure challenges, especially related to housing availability in Canada and Australia. Toronto notably dropped out of the top 10, landing at 12th. Hong Kong made a notable improvement, moving up 11 places to 50th due to better stability and healthcare scores. Conversely, Tel Aviv dropped 20 places to 112th because of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

At the bottom of the list, Damascus, Syria remained the least liveable city, with Tripoli, Libya; Algiers, Algeria; and Lagos, Nigeria, just above. The EIU warned that global liveability showed only slight improvement, with stability risks persisting due to ongoing economic and social challenges.