Live
Melbourne has retained its place as one of the world’s most liveable cities – but only just – as other Australian capitals drop out of the global top 10.
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2022 survey, released on Thursday, has Melbourne 10th on the list (equal with Osaka) and leading the way for Australia.
The European cities of Vienna, Copenhagen and Zurich take out the top three spots.
Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all took places in the top 10 in 2021 but have fallen to 27th, 30th and 32nd respectively.
The index cited a slow lifting of COVID-19 restrictions as the reason for those state capitals losing ground.
The top 10 cities were among those with few COVID-19 restrictions, the report noted, with shops, schools and restaurants reopening, and pandemic-led hospitalisation declining.
“Cities that were towards the top of our rankings before the pandemic have rebounded on the back of their stability, good infrastructure and services, as well as enjoyable leisure activities,” the report said.
The 2022 list had Damascus, Lagos and Tripoli as the world’s three least liveable cities.
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was excluded from the rankings because of the Russian invasion, while the conflict resulted in Moscow and St Petersburg dropping 13 and 15 places respectively.
Melbourne held the title of the world’s most liveable city for seven years from 2011 before it was unseated by the Austrian capital Vienna in 2018.
Global liveability index 2022
Vienna
Copenhagen
Zurich
Calgary
Vancouver
Geneva
Frankfurt
Toronto
Amsterdam
Osaka and Melbourne
-with AAP
Source: Read More