The world’s most liveable cities 2024 have been revealed and it’s a mixed picture for Europe and North America.
Austria’s capital Vienna has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) ranking, taking the title of most liveable city for the third time on the trot and lauded for its “perfect” scores in four out of the five main categories up for judgement. Ranked according to health care, stability, infrastructure and education, culture and environment, Vienna dropped minor points for culture and environment due to the lack of major sporting events in the city.
Copenhagen, Denmark, also held its position in second place, while Zurich, Switzerland, climbed three places to third, just ahead of Australia’s Melbourne, which fell to fourth place. Calgary, Canada, and a further Swiss city, Geneva, drew for fifth place.
Top 10
Switzerland, Australia and Canada all placed two cities each in the top ten. In continental terms, the only Asian city to make it into the top 10 was Osaka, Japan. Oceania meanwhile managed three cities in the top 10 (Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney), but overall Europe dominated the rankings again, with 30 cities (out of 173 studied globally) averaging a score of 92 out of 100.
It’s not all easy living in Europe though, the report’s authors point out, due to “increasing instances of disruptive protests” and crime which affect the region’s stability score. Similarly, despite its high score for education, North America fell down on infrastructure such as housing availability, and on stability measures too.
“Cities in the U.S. face a few well-established structural problems that affect their scores in our index. Foremost among these is a greater incidence of social unrest, which is often rooted in racial inequalities. Moreover, weak gun-control laws mean that crime is often violent and fatal and undermines social cohesion,” Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy industry director at EIU noted.
This is reflected in the U.S. results, with no cities in the top 10; its top ranked city in 2024 is the Hawaiian capital Honolulu which ranked 23 – up two places since last year. The difference between it and other U.S. cities? Its stability.
Democracy vs stability?
But stability can come at a price, as Hong Kong’s situation shows. A dramatic surge up the rankings for the Chinese special administrative region, thanks to healthcare and improved stability since political protests a few years ago, is offset by its decline in the EIU’s separate Democracy Index.
Thanks to diversifying economies and deep pockets being emptied into improving domestic infrastructure, education and health, Gulf and Arabian Peninsula city states made gains this year, including UAE cities Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar also rose up the scale.
But elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel’s Tel Aviv has fallen a whopping 20 places to 112th due to the Israel-Hamas war. Cities at the bottom of the barrel for liveability, as always, are places where war, unstable regimes, weak rule of law and lack of investment undermine civil society. The list bottoms out with Nigeria’s Lagos, Algeria’s Algiers, Libya’s Tripoli and Damascus, Syria, in last place, with no change since last year.
The list to 20
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Melbourne, Australia
5. Calgary, Canada, tied with Geneva, Switzerland
7. Sydney, Australia, tied with Vancouver, Canada
9. Osaka, Japan, tied with Auckland, New Zealand
11. Adelaide, Australia
12. Toronto, Canada
13. Helsinki, Finland
14. Tokyo, Japan
15. Perth, Australia
16. Brisbane, Australia
17. Frankfurt, Germany, tied with Luxembourg, Luxembourg
19. Amsterdam, Netherlands
20. Wellington, New Zealand
