Johannesburg is the 86th most liveable city in the world, while Pretoria is even lower, coming in at 92nd.

The Global Liveability Index, an annual survey of 140 cities by The Economist Intelligence Unit, scored Johannesburg and Pretoria 71.6 and 69.3 respectively.

The report shows that overall the global average liveability score has increased by 0.15% to 75.7% over the past five years.

Vienna, Austria’s capital city, took the number one spot as the most liveable city in the world, unseating Australia’s Melbourne from its top position, with a 99.1 rating.

Melbourne now holds the number two position after hogging the top spot for seven consecutive years. Other top ranked cities include Japan’s Osaka, Canada’s Calgary and Australia’s Sydney.

Damascus, the capital of war-torn Syria, remains the least liveable city surveyed.



Other low ranking cities include Dakar in Senegal ranked at 131, Algeria’s Algiers at 132, Cameroon’s Douala at 133, Libya’s Tripoli at 134, Zimbabwe’s Harare at 135 and Nigeria’s Lagos at 138.

The survey assesses the cities by comparing healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

“Globally, this has been a year of many changes. Not only has Vienna displaced Melbourne to become the most liveable city, but a total of 77 cities have seen a change in their liveability ratings. A return to relative stability, after several high-profile terrorist attacks and civil unrest incidents across much of western Europe and North America, has meant that only nine of these cities have registered a decline in this period,” said Roxana Slavcheva, editor of the survey.



In March, The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Johannesburg and Pretoria among the biggest increases in the ranking of the highest cost of living.

The 2018 Worldwide Cost of Living report shows Johannesburg shot up 11 positions and Pretoria 13 positions in the rankings of cities with the highest cost of living.

The report ranks Johannesburg 105 and Pretoria 110 as the most expensive cities to live in the world.

This survey ranked cities worldwide by comparing products and services like food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rent, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.

It showed that Lagos is among the cheapest countries to live in worldwide, but is seen as one of the least liveable cities – ranking 130 – moving up two positions in the past year.

However, the report warns that a low cost of living does not necessarily provide a good indication of liveability.

According to the report “Karachi, Algiers [both ranked 127], Almaty [131] and Lagos have faced well-documented economic, political, security and infrastructural challenges, and there is some correlation between The Economist Intelligence Unit’s cost of living ranking and its sister ranking, the liveability survey. Put simply, cheaper cities also tend to be less liveable.”