Today, Vienna was awarded the best city in the world to live once more. The City of Music maintained its position as the top city in the Global Liveability Index, which was just announced by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Copenhagen also maintained its position as the second-place city.
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“The Austrian capital slipped down our rankings in 2021, when its famous museums and restaurants faced restrictions to contain the pandemic, but this was a rare slip-up,” the report said. “The city continues to offer an unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education, and health care services, and plenty of culture and entertainment.” The only major setback for Vienna: no major sporting events.
Melbourne came in third and Sydney came in fourth among a group of Australian cities that followed the two European capitals. Vancouver came in fifth, Calgary came in seventh, and Toronto came in ninth, all of which were Canadian cities. Cities like Zurich, Geneva, Osaka, Japan, and Auckland completed the top 10.
The Asia-Pacific area recorded the largest gains. New Zealand’s Wellington rose 35 positions to No. 23, and Auckland rose 25 positions to No. Bucharest, Romania, and Perth, Australia, both climbed 21 ranks to 12 and 99, respectively, in the meantime. Vietnam’s Hanoi made a significant improvement, moving up 20 ranks to 129.
On the other end of the spectrum, Stockholm, Sweden, dropped 22 ranks to 43 and Edinburgh, United Kingdom, dropped 23 spots to 58. Los Angeles and San Diego, two American cities, both experienced considerable declines, falling to rankings of 57 and 61, respectively. Manchester, England, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, both dropped 16 spots to tie at position 44.
From February 13, 2022, to March 12, 2023, 173 cities were examined, and ratings were provided on 30 variables in five areas, including stability and health care, infrastructure, culture, and education. Separating apart cultural innuendos and subtleties involved a team of knowledgeable analysts and contributors in each city. The effects of the pandemic were also taken into consideration, including limitations on theater, concerts, sporting activities, restaurants and educational institutions.
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“The removal of COVID-19-related restrictions has overall boded well for global liveability in 2023,” said Upasana Dutt, the leader of the EIU’s Liveability Index, in a statement. “With children returning to school and a considerable decrease in the strain on hospitals and healthcare systems, education has become stronger, with some noticeable advances in cities throughout growing economies in Asia and the Middle East. We anticipate that as the political and economic axis of the world continues to swing eastward, the cities in these areas will gradually rise in our liveability rankings.