The ‘most livable cities in the world’ is an informal recognition or a tag given to a list of global cities according to their ranking in yearly surveys conducted by varied organizations. The ranking is based on a variety of factors such as provision of clean air, clean water, proper shelter, and sufficient food as well as the presence of a sense of a community that provides hospitality for all, particularly youngsters so that they can develop a sense of independence, social skills, and identity. Over the years, cities from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe have consistently ranked in the top 50 most livable cities in the world.
Some of the examples of such ‘most livable cities’ surveys are the “Global Liveability Ranking” by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU); the “Most Liveable Cities Index” by Monocle; Deutsche Bank’s “Liveability Survey”; and the “Mercer Quality of Living Survey”. Such rankings can be used to determine hardship allowances by employers for job relocations.
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The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Ranking
The EIU’s annual Global Liveability Ranking is the most widely used ranking system. It ranks 140 major cities around the world on the basis of the average of the scores for the below mentioned metrics.
- Healthcare, which also includes the quality and availability of both private and public healthcare systems
- Stability, which also includes prevalence of terror threats, violent and petty crimes, and danger of military conflicts
- Environment and culture, which also includes corruption levels, climate, availability of sporting activities, and censorship levels
- Infrastructure, which also includes availability and quality of public transport, road networks, telecommunications, housing, energy and utilities, and clean drinking water
- Education, which also includes availability of quality public and private education
Melbourne in Australia was ranked the most livable city by the EIU for 7 consecutive years, from 2011 to 2017. Vancouver in Canada retained the top rank from 2004 to 2010. In 2016, Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least livable city in the world by the EIU.
Presented below are the top 5 most livable cities for 2019 as per the EIU survey.
- Vienna, Austria: This was the second year running that the capital city of Austria was ranked the most livable city in the world. In the 2019 EIU survey, Vienna had near perfect scores on all the metrics for a total average score of 99.1.
- Melbourne, Australia: This beautiful city in Australia was displaced from the top spot in 2018 by Vienna. For 2019, it ranks as the second most livable city with an average score of 98.4.
- Sydney, Australia: This melting pot of a city in the Australian continent is best known for its marvelous Sydney Opera House. It scored an average of 98.1 in EIU’s 2019 Global Liveability Ranking and ranks the third most livable city in the world.
- Osaka, Japan: This peaceful city in the island nation of Japan is a first time entrant in the top 5. It is the world’s fourth most livable city with an average score of 97.7.
- Calgary, Canada: This Canadian city scored an average of 97.5 in EIU’s metrics for 2019 rankings. It places fifth in the most livable cities list.
Even though the US is one of the most developed countries in the world, their cities have rarely made it to the top 10 of the most livable cities rankings. For 2019, the American city with the highest rank is the capital city of Honolulu in Hawaii. It ranked as the 22nd most livable city.
Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey
Monocle is a lifestyle magazine that publishes an annual list of the top 25 most livable cities in the world. Their ranking system is called “The Most Liveable Cities Index” and is based on varied criteria such as international connectivity, crime/safety, sunshine/climate, public transport, architectural quality, tolerance, access to contact with nature, environmental problems, urban design, practical policy developments, business conditions, and healthcare, etc.
Presented below are the top 5 most livable cities for 2019 as per The Most Liveable Cities Index.
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Tokyo, Japan
- Munich, Germany
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Vienna, Austria
Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking
Mercer is an American multinational human resources and financial services consultancy firm. It publishes an annual Mercer Quality of Living Survey that compares 221 global cities on the basis of 39 metrics.
Presented below are the top 5 most livable cities for 2019 as per Mercer’s survey.
- Vienna, Austria: This city has retained the top spot in Mercer’s surveys since 2009.
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Vancouver in Canada, Munich in Germany, and Auckland in New Zealand are tied for the 3rd spot
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Frankfurt, Germany
World’s Best Cities to Live by Global Finance
This is the only survey of most livable cities for the year 2020. Presented below are the top 5 most livable cities for 2020 as per Global Finance’s ‘World’s Best Cities to Live’ survey.
- Tokyo, Japan
- London, United Kingdom
- Singapore, Singapore
- New York, United States
- Melbourne, Australia
Deutsche Bank’s Liveability Survey
This survey ranks the most livable cities on the basis of affordability, style, pollution, happiness, and other criteria. Presented below are the top 5 most livable cities for 2019 as per Deutsche Bank’s survey.
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Vienna, Austria
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