World's most liveable cities revealed... but London doesn't even make the top 40

Tom Powell14 August 2018

London has once again failed to make it onto a list of the world’s top 40 most liveable cities with Vienna taking first place.

The Austrian capital dislodged Melbourne for the first time in eight years to top the rankings of the Economist Intelligence Unit annual global survey.

It is the first time a European city has topped the table of 140 cities, which is based on crime, education, healthcare and political and social stability among other factors.

Manchester saw the biggest rise up the table of any European city, climbing 16 places to 35th.

London came 13 places behind in 48th, which is the biggest gap between the two cities since the survey began two decades ago.

London came 48th in the annual ranking
Alex Lentati

Most Liveable Cities in the World 2018 - In pictures

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Top ten

Most liveable cities

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Osaka, Japan

4. Calgary, Canada

5. Sydney, Australia

6. Vancouver, Canada

7. Tokyo, Japan

8. Toronto, Canada

9. Copenhagen, Denmark

10. Adelaide, Australia

The survey's editor Roxana Slavcheva said Manchester’s success was partly due to “resilience in the city's recovery from a recent, high-profile terrorist attack, which previously shook up stability".

Melbourne and Vienna have been neck and neck in the survey for years, with the Australian city clinching the title for the past seven editions.

This year, a downgraded threat of militant attacks in western Europe as well as the city's low crime rate helped nudge Vienna into first place.

Melbourne missed out on top spot for the first time in eight years (Pixabay)
skeeze/Pixabay

At the other end of the table, Damascus retained last place, followed by the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and Lagos in Nigeria. The survey does not include several of the world's most dangerous capitals, such as Baghdad and Kabul.

Bottom ten

Least liveable cities

1. Damascus, Syria

2. Dhaka, Bangladesh

3. Lagos, Nigeria

4. Karachi, Pakistan

5. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

6. Harare, Zimbabwe

7. Tripoli, Libya

8. Douala, Cameroon

9. Algiers, Algeria

10. Dakar, Senegal

"While in the past couple of years cities in Europe were affected by the spreading perceived threat of terrorism in the region, which caused heightened security measures, the past year has seen a return to normalcy," the EIU said in a statement.

"A long-running contender to the title, Vienna has succeeded in displacing Melbourne from the top spot due to increases in the Austrian capital's stability category ratings," it added.

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, which the EIU says tends to favour medium-sized cities in wealthy countries, often with relatively low population densities. Much larger and more crowded cities tend to have higher crime rates and more strained infrastructure, it said.

Vienna dislodged Melbourne to take the top spot
aguettl/Pixabay

Vienna has a population of fewer than 2 million people and boasts many green spaces including lakes with popular beaches and vineyards with sweeping views of the capital. Public transport is also cheap and efficient.

Ms Slavcheva added: "One of the sub-categories that Vienna does really well in is the prevalence of petty crime... It's proven to be one of the safest cities in Europe.”

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