Vancouver, Melbourne and Vienna named world’s most liveable cities

9 June 2009: Vancouver, Vienna, Melbourne have again been named as the three ‘best’ cities in the world to live in and to visit. The survey by the London-based Economist Intelligent Survey (EIU) describes Vancouver as almost perfect with only petty crime and the availability of good-quality housing presenting any challenges. Similar research by Mercer Consulting puts Vienna in first place followed by Zurich and Geneva.

Vienna is ranked second in the EIU survey, followed by Melbourne in third place. Toronto has seen a slight improvement in its index, bringing it up to fourth place, from sixth previously. Canadian and Australian cities account for six of the top ten, with Vienna, Helsinki, Zurich and Geneva making up the most liveable destinations surveyed. The German cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin are placed 14th, 19th and 22nd respectively. London (51st) and Athens (63rd) are outside the top 50. In fact, Manchester, in 46th place, is the UK’s highest ranked city.

EIU's ten best cities in the world

Rank	City	Country
1	Vancouver	Canada
2	Vienna	Austria
3	Melbourne	Australia
4	Toronto	Canada
=5	Perth	Australia
=5	Calgary	Canada
7	Helsinki	Finland
8	Geneva	Switzerland
=9	Sydney	Australia
=9	Zurich	Switzerland

Cities that score best in the EIU research tend to be mid-sized, in developed countries with a low population density, benefiting from cultural or recreational availability but with lower crime levels or infrastructure problems that can be caused by large populations.

With the exception of high scores in Australasia and some Asian centres, most of the better-scoring locations are based in the more developed regions of Western Europe and North America. This is unsurprising, given the implied stability and mature infrastructures offered by the two regions. The West European and North American averages are, respectively, only 5.8% and 6.5% short of top-scoring Vancouver. No city in either region falls below the highest-rated category for liveability, which can give any city a claim to occupy the same tier of liveability as top-scoring Vancouver and Vienna.

Athens fares worst in Western Europe, with an overall score of 81.2%, failing to match the regional average in any category and suffering from educational and infrastructural challenges similar to less-developed locations. Lexington (US, 59th) fares worst in North America with an overall score of 85.8%. As a much smaller city than many in the US, Lexington scores more highly in terms of stability owing to the lower threat from crime. However, the downside to its smaller size is a lower availability of cultural or recreational activities.

At the other end of the ranking, most of the poorest-performing locations are in Africa or Asia, where civil instability and poor infrastructure present significant challenges (the survey does not include locations such as Afghanistan or Iraq). The prospect of violence, whether through domestic protests, civil war or the threat of foreign incursion, plays a significant role in the poorest-performing cities. This can exacerbate the impact of instability on other key liveability categories, such as infrastructure, healthcare indicators or the availability (or freedom) of certain activities.

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