In the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Index, an annual global survey of liveable cities, Vienna has displaced Melbourne as the most liveable city, a title which the latter has owned for seven years consecutively. It is also the first time a European city has topped the rankings of the EIU annual survey. EIU’s liveability rating, part of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, assigns scores to 140 cities based on political and social stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Vienna and Melbourne scored maximum points in the healthcare, education and infrastructure categories. But while Melbourne extended its lead in the culture and environment component, that was outweighed by Vienna’s improved stability ranking. Osaka, Calgary and Sydney completed the top five in the survey. Two other Australian cities, Sydney and Adelaide, also made it into the top ten. In Asia, Osaka and Tokyo moved up the ranks to join the top 10, coming in third and seventh place respectively. Singapore ranked 37th and also registered an improvement in the public healthcare category, achieving the highest possible score. This ranking makes Singapore the 11th most liveable city in Asia.
The ten most liveable cities in 2018:
- Vienna, Austria
- Melbourne, Australia
- Osaka, Japan
- Calgary, Canada
- Sydney, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Tokyo, Japan
- Toronto, Canada
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Adelaide, Australia