06 July 2022

WORLD'S MOST LIVE-ABLE CITY: Vienna (for the third time in the last five years)

Must be that "Old World Charm" when Europe boasted six out of the top 10 cities.

After slipping to 12th place last year due to COVID-19 related closures, Vienna once again topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual ranking of the world’s most livable cities following the reopening of Austria’s borders as well as the city’s museums and restaurants

Vienna reclaims title of the world’s most liveable city

"Annual rankings return Austria’s capital to first place, as former title-holder Auckland tumbles to 34th and Ukraine war sees eastern cities slump

The Austrian capital, Vienna, has made a comeback as the world’s most liveable city, according to an annual report from the Economist.

Vienna snatched the top spot from New Zealand city Auckland, which tumbled down to 34th place due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions, according to the report by the Economist intelligence unit published on Thursday.

“Vienna, which slipped to 12th place in our rankings in early 2021 as its museums and restaurants were closed, has since rebounded to first place, the position it held in 2018 and 2019,” the report said.

“Stability and good infrastructure are the city’s main charms for its inhabitants, supported by good healthcare and plenty of opportunities for culture and entertainment.”

The Austrian capital was followed by the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and Switzerland’s Zurich. Fellow Swiss city Geneva came sixth, Germany’s Frankfurt seventh, and the Netherlands’ Amsterdam ninth.

Canada also did well. Calgary came in joint third position, followed by Vancouver in fifth place and Toronto in eighth.

Japan’s Osaka and Australia’s Melbourne shared 10th place. France’s capital, Paris, came 19th, 23 places up from last year. The Belgian capital, Brussels, was 24th, just behind Canada’s Montreal. . .

In this year’s rankings, the UK’s capital, London, was the world’s 33rd most liveable city, five places behind Manchester in 28. Spain’s Barcelona and Madrid came 35th and 43rd respectively. Italy’s Milan ranked number 49, the US city of New York 51, and China’s Beijing came 71st.

Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, which was ravaged by a 2020 port explosion and is battling a crippling financial crisis, was not included in the ranking of business destinations.

Neither was Kyiv, after the Russian invasion on 24 February forced the Economist to abort its survey of the city. Russia’s capital, Moscow, saw its liveability ranking fall by 15 places, while St Petersburg slipped by 13 places. . .

The capital of war-torn Syria, Damascus, retained its place as least liveable city on the planet."

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

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