Marrakesh – The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has once again declared Vienna, Austria, as the world’s “most livable city,” but the report details noticeable shifts in the fortunes of European, MENA and Asian cities.
This year, Vienna has once again clinched the title of the world’s most livable city, marking its third consecutive year at the top.
However, Western Europe and North America saw significant regional declines in this year’s EIU report.
On average, global cities are on the rise, except for two regions, Western Europe and North America. The EIU details that “an increasing incidence of protests in Europe around causes ranging from agriculture to immigration policies has damaged the stability scores of cities in the region.”
Civil unrest has plagued Europe, with French farmers blocking motorways into Paris and widespread protests against immigration policies.
Additionally, riots in the French island of New Caledonia, and campus protests across the US—occurring after the survey period—suggest potential challenges for next year’s index.
The report also highlighted the toll of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Despite declining inflation in many countries, the impact, especially on housing costs, remains significant. High prices are negatively affecting infrastructure scores, particularly in Australia and Canada.
While the quality of urban living is at its highest in well over a decade, the benefits are not being felt equally by all.
The report further details the decline in other Western countries, highlighting that “the cost-of-living crisis drags on in many countries, with housing costs emerging as one
of the stickiest elements of inflation.
Meanwhile, cities in the East are on the rise, with Hong Kong and Singapore recording the greatest improvement in the quality of life of its residents.
Despite the ever-growing impact of climate change and a severe inflation crisis, the Middle-East and North Africa saw an improvement since last year, mirrored by sub-Saharan Africa.
As the top city, the Austrian capital earned perfect scores in four of the index’s five categories, although its score of 93.5 in the culture and environment category was slightly impacted by a lack of major sporting events.
Annually, the EIU’s expansive survey evaluates 173 cities based on five crucial dimensions: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Joining Vienna in the top five are three other European cities: Copenhagen, Zurich, and Geneva, all known for their smaller populations, lower crime rates, and efficient public transport systems.
The top ten also features two Canadian cities, Calgary and Vancouver, along with four Asia-Pacific cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Osaka, and Auckland.
According to the report, war-torn Damascus remains entrenched at the bottom of the table, maintaining its position as the least livable city in the index since 2013 with a score of just 30.7 in 2024.
The Syrian capital’s stability score of 20 ties with Karachi for the lowest among all surveyed cities. Kyiv also struggles in this category, landing it in the bottom ten for the second consecutive year.
Tel Aviv shares a similarly poor stability rating and saw significant drops in infrastructure and culture and environment scores by 7.2 and 6.7 points respectively, due to the conflict in Gaza.
This resulted in Tel Aviv plummeting 20 places down the rankings to 112th, marking the most dramatic shift in this year’s survey.
After a sharp drop and subsequent rebound during the COVID years, the global average livability score saw a marginal increase of just 0.06 points over the past year, a stark contrast to the 2.84-point rise in the 12 months leading up to June 2023.
