Manchester has retained its title as the best UK city to live in beating London once again.

The Global Liveability Survey was compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit and scores 140 cities worldwide out of 100 in the areas of health care, education, stability, culture and environment and infrastructure.

Manchester scored 88.8 out of a 100 and has climbed three places to rank at 43 thanks to liveability declines elsewhere.

Meanwhile, London, which scored 87.2, saw an unchanged ranking of 53rd – ten places lower than Manchester.

The capital’s lower score reflects the capital suffering from a higher perceived threat from terrorism and petty crime, even though it has more cultural attractions and a more robust infrastructure, compared to Manchester.

Tourism bosses said they weren't surprised given Manchester's transport infrastructure, cultural offering, and property boom.

(Image: Matt Ratcliffe)

Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester said: “It’s very exciting to see that Manchester has once again been rated as the most liveable city in the UK and one of the top 50 globally. Results like this shows that the city’s ongoing growth is of global significance.

“Of course thanks to our comprehensive transport infrastructure, fantastic cultural offering, and ongoing property boom it’s really no surprise that Manchester keeps proving to be a major destination on the world stage.

“We’re seeing this reflected not only in terms of liveability, but also from the growing numbers of people wanting to visit the city. The strength of the city’s tourism offer is being increasingly recognised across the world, most recently by Lonely Planet naming Manchester in its Best in Travel 2016.

“Looking to the future, the next objective for Manchester is to meet growing demand by increasing the availability of living spaces. This is where upcoming developments like St. Michael’s, St. John’s and Circle Square will form such a critical part of the next step in the city’s progress.”

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, said: “Manchester has seen huge growth in the last decade, which can only mean that the city has been somewhere people want to live, work and visit for some years.

"Our ambition is to be in the top flight of international cities world-wide and our reputation as a cultural destination, as well as somewhere to invest in and work, has raised our profile as a global destination.



“Manchester is known to be a safe and friendly place for tourists and locals, with a huge amount to do and see, two of the world’s top football teams, along with top flight universities and ever growing employment opportunities. When you put all this together it’s easy to see why Manchester is somewhere people want to live.”

Meanwhile, further terrorist attacks over the last 12 months have continued to undermine liveability in continental Europe.

Incidents in France and Belgium have contributed to a decrease in the scores for ten of the region’s cities.

As well as Brussels and Paris heightened risk of attack has led to lower ratings for Zurich and Geneva, as well as Luxembourg, Oslo, Rome and Lisbon. Berlin and Frankfurt have also seen similar declines having suffered from protests and unrest in the past year.

(Image: Manchester Arena Facebook)

Elsewhere in the world Melbourne continues to be ranked as the world’s most liveable city but Vienna has maintained its position in second place. Unrest and high profile mass shootings have led to declines in the scores of five cities in the US.

Even Australia, home to many of the world’s most liveable cities, has not been immune.

A hostage-taking incident in Sydney in 2014 has raised concerns and vigilance over the threat of terror there, pushing the Australian city out of the top ten. Heightened tensions in the South China Sea have also lowered liveability scores for Chinese cities.

Only six cities have managed to buck the trend with improving liveability, although of these only Tehran has seen a noteworthy change. The Iranian capital has benefitted from the thawing of international relations, moving four places up the ranking and out of the very bottom tier of liveability.

The 10 most liveable cities:

Melbourne, Australia

Vienna, Austria

Vancouver, Canada

Toronto, Canada

Calgary, Canada

Adelaide, Australia

Perth, Australia

Auckland, New Zealand

Helsinki, Finland

Hamburg, Germany

The 10 least liveable cities:

Kiev, Ukraine

Douala, Cameroon

Harare, Zimbabwe

Karachi, Pakistan

Algiers, Algeria

Port Moresby,PNG

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Lagos, Nigeria

Tripoli, Libya

Damascus, Syria