The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its list of more livable cities, and for the second year in a row Vienna has taken the top spot. The Austrian city had a near perfect score of 99.1 percent.
The 140 cities were ranked based on stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Vienna earned nearly perfect scores in all categories. It was followed by Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; Osaka, Japan; and Calgary, Canada. Melbourne previously held the number one spot for seven consecutive years before it was unseated by Vienna in 2018.
The cities that fill out the top 10 remain the same as last year, although some of the positions have changed. EIU notes that medium-sized cities in wealthy countries tend to do well in the rankings.
Honolulu was the highest rated city in the United States, with Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Chicago all making it into the top 50.
Major financial hubs did not fare all that well on the list. London came in at 48. New York City is number 58. While New York was ranked highly for culture, it lost points for infrastructure and stability.
The least livable city in the world is Damascus, Syria, followed by Lagos, Nigeria; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Tripoli, Libya; and Karachi, Pakistan.
Twitter, of course, had some priceless reactions to the news.
The World’s Most Liveable Cities 2019
The World’s Least Liveable Cities 2019
