Vienna tops the list of 10 best cities to live in the world, Pakistan’s Karachi features in the bottom 10 (2024)

Synopsis

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) annually releases its Global Liveability Index, ranking cities based on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. In the 2024 report, Vienna, Austria, remains the top city for the third consecutive year, praised for its cultural vibrancy and exceptional public services. However, cities like Karachi, Pakistan, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, are among the least livable, ranking in the bottom ten.

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Curious about the most desirable cities to live in the world? Every year, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) assesses cities worldwide, revealing their findings in the much-anticipated Global Liveability Index 2024. Find out which cities make the cut and why they shine as the best places to call home.

For the third year in a row, Vienna, Austria, has been crowned the world's best city to live in. With flawless scores in stability, healthcare, and education, Vienna is lauded for its unparalleled mix of cultural vibrancy and top-notch public services.

Meanwhile, according to the report, Pakistan’s Karachi, and Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka are amongst the least liveable cities in the world as they feature in the bottom 10 of the list.

The index ranks the liveability of 173 cities across five key categories, including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

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This year's survey revealed an increase in average scores, thanks to improvements in healthcare and education in developing countries. However, this progress was largely counterbalanced by declines in scores for several top-tier cities.

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SUBMIT

Four cities in the Asia-Pacific region—Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Osaka in Japan, and Auckland in New Zealand—have made it into this year’s top ten most livable cities globally.

Cities in the Middle East and North Africa present a varied picture. The conflict between Israel and Hamas caused Tel Aviv to plummet 20 places to 112th. While regional stability scores suffered due to the conflict, significant improvements in education and healthcare in many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have boosted overall livability. Notably, cities in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar) saw the greatest score increases. Despite these advancements, the region still includes some of the least livable cities, such as Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli (Libya), and Damascus (Syria).

The 10 best cities to live in the world:

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

3. Zurich, Switzerland

4. Melbourne, Australia

5. Calgary, Canada (tied with Geneva)

5. Geneva, Switzerland (tie)

7. Sydney, Australia (tied with Vancouver)

7. Vancouver, Canada (tie)

9. Osaka, Japan (tied with Aukland)

9. Auckland, New Zealand (tie)

The 10 cities that featured at the bottom of the list: