Vienna has held off Melbourne to retain the top spot on the Economist Intelligence Unitโs Global Liveability Index for 2019, further strengthening its reputation as the worldโs most pleasant city, while the โgilets jaunesโ protests hurt Parisโ score.
Melbourne, Australia took the second-place spot, following close behind Viennaโs score. Vienna had taken the top spot from Melbourne last year after seven consecutive years at No. 1.
Sydney, Australia; Osaka, Japan; and Calgary, Canada make up the remaining top five on the annual Global Liveability Index of 140 cities around the world.
Not one U.S. city landed in the top 10 this year. Honolulu scored the highest among U.S. cities, ranking 22nd. Atlanta trailed at 33rd, followed by Pittsburgh at 34th and Seattle at 36th.
The EIUโs index ranks cities by five headline criteria. Stability and culture & environment are the two most important categories, weighted equally at 25% of the total. Healthcare and infrastructure are also matched at 20%, with education coming in last with a 10% weighting.
Damascus in war-torn Syria remained the worst-ranked city, below Lagos in Nigeria and the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, which swapped places.
The worldโs most liveable cities 2019
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Osaka, Japan
5. Calgary, Canada
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Toronto, Canada
7. Tokyo, Japan
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Adelaide, Australia
The worldโs least liveable cities 2019
1. Damascus, Syria
2. Lagos, Nigeria
3. Dhaka, Bangladesh
4. Tripoli, Libya
5. Karachi, Pakistan
6. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
7. Harare, Zimbabwe
8. Douala, Cameroon
9. Algiers, Algeria
10. Caracas, Venezuela
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