Melbourne, Australia, has hit the top spot as the world’s most liveable city three years in a row, according to the 2013 Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Survey.
The top cities are all the same as last year, with Australian, Canadian and New Zealand cities landing eight of the top 10 spots.
Meanwhile, 28 cities saw ranking changes with negative liveability driven by civil unrest. The EIU notes that the Arab Spring, European austerity cuts and discontent in Chinese all contributed to drops in scores.
Best and worst
Vienna ranked the second most liveable city, while Canadian cities Vancouver and Toronto were third and fourth; Calgary tied with Adelaide for fifth place.
The research showed the cities taking the top spots are mostly medium-sized cities in richer countries with low population densities.
Languishing at the bottom of the table, due to ongoing civil conflict in Syria, is Damascus — dropping 10 places.
News that the United Nations is likely to step in to police peace between the rival forces after the government stands accused of releasing chemical weapons will no doubt anchor the city at the bottom of the pile next year as well.
Few changes
The EIU surveyed 140 cities, looking at political and economic stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Scores in each category were weighted to give a total out of 100. A score of 100 is considered ideal and 1 intolerable. Melbourne, at the top, scored 97.5, while Damascus at the bottom, recorded 38.4.
The report found only 13 cities reported major rating changes. Madrid dropped five places to 44 due to “unrest and protests,” but is still a desirable place to live. Bratislava, Slovakia, moved into the top rankings at 63 as the major upwardly mobile city.
Life’s not all bad though, even in the cities ranking at the bottom of the table – many are also in the list of the top 10 most improved cities over the past five years as well.
Global Liveability Survey
Top 10 most liveable cities
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Melbourne | Australia |
| 2 | Vienna | Austria |
| 3 | Vancouver | Canada |
| 4 | Toronto | Canada |
| 5 | Calgary | Canada |
| Adelaide | Australia | |
| 7 | Sydney | Australia |
| 8 | Helsinki | Finland |
| 9 | Perth | Australia |
| 10 | Auckland | New Zealand |
Bottom 10 least liveable cities
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Tehran | Iran |
| 2 | Douala | Cameroon |
| 3 | Tripoli | Libya |
| 4 | Karachi | Pakistan |
| 5 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 6 | Harare | Zimbabwe |
| 7 | Lagos | Nigeria |
| 8 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea |
| 9 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 10 | Damascus | Syria |
The 10 most improved cities over the past five years
| Rank | City | Country |
| 1 | Bogota | Colombia |
| 2 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates |
| 3 | Kuwait City | Kuwait |
| 4 | Taipei | Taiwan |
| 5 | Bratislava | Slovakia |
| 6 | Harare | Zimbabwe |
| 7 | Algiers | Algeria |
| 8 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 9 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 10 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia |
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
