Canada and Australia feature the most attractive destinations in the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking of cities' liveability worldwide (see full report). Cities with the best scores benefit from relatively low crime rates, little threat from instability or terrorism and well-developed infrastructures. Vancouver comes out on top, as it has done in previous surveys, with an index rating of just 1.3%.

Economic, political and social instability tends to foster hardship. This is highlighted in particular in Harare, which ranks as the least attractive destination of those surveyed owing to ongoing economic and political uncertainty in Zimbabwe. The threat of terrorism or conflict plays a large part in the rankings of cities that score poorly for liveability, as other indicators such as infrastructure and recreational availability often suffer where violence occurs.

While liveability considers factors of recreational and cultural availability, the "big city buzz" can also hamper scores. From this perspective, global centres such as New York, Tokyo, London and Paris have become victims of their own success. Financial opportunities and a strong cultural offering can attract visitors on a scale that can exacerbate congestion and crime levels. This has also been compounded by the targeting of terror attacks on large centres such as London and New York. Despite this, most major centres do not present any significant challenges to liveability.

Over one-half of the cities surveyed (66) fall into the top bracket of liveability, where there are few, if any, challenges to the quality of living. Most of these are based in Western Europe and North America. Latin America and Eastern Europe are experiencing improvements as infrastructure and related stability improves. These regions have three locations each in the top tier of liveability, but no city in either the Middle East or Africa falls into the top bracket.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Liveability Index quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations. There are five categories in the index: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure. Across the survey a combination of quantitative and qualitative data is used to give an overall Quality of Life Index rating.