Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver
named world’s most liveable cities
A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit

15 August 2012: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has again named Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver as the three ‘best’ cities in the world for western expatriates. Toronto and Calgary complete the top five. The five worst cities in the world are, according to the survey, Dhaka, Port Moresby, Lagos, Harare and Algiers. Similar research by Mercer Consulting puts Vienna in first place, followed by Zurich and Auckland.

The EIU report, which describes the concept of livability as simple, is compiled for business people from western countries and used to work out hardship allowances as part of an expatriate's relocation package. The report's authors say that the survey quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Seen from such a western perspective, it is therefore not surprising that the survey's top cities are all located in wealthy western countries.

The report's authors admit that "those cities that score best tend to be mid-sized cities with a relatively low population density in wealthier countries. This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure." It probably also helps to be in an English-speaking country as eight of the top ten ranked cities are in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In contrast, six of Mercer’s top-ten cities are German speaking.

The EIU report awards Melbourne and Vienna maximum points (100/100) for healthcare, education and infrastructure. Vancouver is the top-rated (100/100) city for culture and the environment, while Toronto, Calgary and Helsinki score 100/100 for stability.

The city with the lowest stability score (20/100) is Karachi. Other cities with below 50/100 scores include Abidjan, Harare, Lagos and Port Moresby.

Last year’s riots in London and Manchester caused both cities to drop down the table, with Manchester now being ranked 51st and London 55th. The Mercer research puts London in 38th place.

EIU's ten 'best' cities in the world

Mercer Consulting's 50 best cities in the world

EIU's ten 'worst' cities in the world

Rank	City	Country
131	Abidjan	Ivory Coast
132	Tehran	Iran
133	Douala	Cameron
134	Tripoli	Libya
135	Karachi	Pakistan
136	Algiers	Algeria
137	Harare	Zimbabwe
138	Lagos	Nigeria
139	Port Moresby	Papua New Guinea
140	Dhaka	Bangladesh

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