On the EIU’s index, which ranks 140 cities on 30 factors bunched into five categories—stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure—Vienna scores a near-perfect 99.1 out of 100, putting it just ahead of Melbourne. [...] Higher crime rates and ropey infrastructure pull some bigger cities like London, New York and Paris down the league table, despite their cultural and culinary attractions. — The Economist

Having seemingly cracked the 'perfect-city' formula, Vienna, once again, has topped a major global livability ranking. As The Economist reports, the Austrian capital scored a "near-perfect 99.1 out of 100," followed immediately by its perennial quality-of-life rival, Melbourne.

Unsurprisingly, the list of top-ranking locations contains familiar livability heavy hitters from Australia and Canada with a couple of Japanese cities entering the mix:

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Sydney, Australia

4. Osaka, Japan

5. Calgary, Canada

6. Vancouver, Canada

7. Toronto, Canada

7. Tokyo, Japan

9. Copenhagen, Denmark

10. Adelaide, Australia

The highest-ranking U.S. city was Honolulu at 22nd. Atlanta came in at 33rd, closely followed by Pittsburgh at 34th, Seattle at 36th, and Washington, D.C. at 40th.

The Global Liveability Index 2019. Video via The Economist Intelligence Unit on YouTube.



Dominating the bottom of the list of the 140 surveyed cities are rapidly urbanizing metro areas in developing countries where explosive population growth presents unique design and regulatory challenges:



1. Damascus, Syria

2. Lagos, Nigeria

3. Dhaka, Bangladesh

4. Tripoli, Libya

5. Karachi, Pakistan

6. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

7. Harare, Zimbabwe

8. Douala, Cameroon

9. Algiers, Algeria

10. Caracas, Venezuela

Click here to access the complete Global Liveability Index, compiled annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

