Vancouver, Toronto fall down ranking of world’s most liveable cities

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Some of the world’s most liveable cities in Australia and Canada are slipping down the rankings due to acute housing shortages, an issue that governments around the world are struggling to remedy.

Melbourne, Sydney and Vancouver have all fallen in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Global Liveability Index due to scarce rental properties and high home prices. Toronto has also lost ground, dropping out of the top 10 ranking.

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Vienna, where residents benefit from strong public housing policies, is the world’s most liveable city for a third year running, ahead of Copenhagen and Zurich.

The cost of living is a key factor for some of the top-ranked cities, particularly after the inflation spike of recent years, but stability has become the biggest drag in the list. Western Europe’s overall score tumbled because of a deterioration in stability. In Germany, six cities were among the largest decliners due to more frequent disruptive protests. Tel Aviv fell the most in the wake of last year’s attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.

Hong Kong rose the most in 2024, up to 50th, helped by improvements in stability and healthcare. Eastern European capitals also advanced.

Damascus, Syria and Tripoli in Libya remain at the bottom of the list due to crime, the threat of conflict, and poor healthcare.

The EIU ranks 173 cities based on five categories: stability, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, and healthcare.

Bloomberg.com

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