World's most liveable cities for 2024: Vienna clinches top spot once again

Vienna, the capital city of Austria, was crowned the most liveable city in the world for third year running. The city achieved perfect scores in stability, healthcare, education, and infrastructure ca

Vienna, known as one of the world’s most beautiful cities to visit, has once again clinched the title of the most liveable city in the world. According to the latest annual report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released today, the Austrian capital has secured the top spot for the third consecutive year.

The EIU, an affiliate of The Economist, evaluated 173 cities globally across several key factors including healthcare, culture and environment, stability, infrastructure, and education. Vienna achieved perfect scores in four out of five categories, with its only slight deduction attributed to a perceived lack of major sporting events.

Following Vienna, Copenhagen in Denmark maintained its second-place ranking, while Zurich in Switzerland ascended from sixth to third place. Melbourne, Australia slipped to fourth, sharing the fifth spot with Calgary, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland.

The top 10 most liveable cities in 2024 are:

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

3. Zurich, Switzerland

4. Melbourne, Australia

5. Calgary, Canada

5. Geneva, Switzerland

7. Sydney, Australia

7. Vancouver, Canada

9. Osaka, Japan

9. Auckland, New Zealand

In North America, Honolulu, Hawaii led at 23rd place, with Atlanta, Georgia making notable gains to reach 29th. Los Angeles secured 58th place, and New York ranked 70th.

Education scores were highest in North America, although infrastructure ratings in Canada declined due to housing shortages despite rising property costs.

London, the UK’s capital, was positioned as the 45th most liveable city globally.

Across Asia, Hong Kong showed the most significant improvement, moving from 61st to 50th place, buoyed by advances in stability and healthcare. UAE cities including Abu Dhabi and Dubai also saw notable score increases, along with Saudi Arabian cities Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar.

Conversely, Tel Aviv in Israel experienced a significant drop, falling 20 places to 112th due to ongoing conflicts.

Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy industry director at EIU, highlighted a marginal increase in global liveability but cautioned about persistent stability risks amid economic challenges and widespread protests worldwide.

At the bottom of the rankings, Damascus, Syria remained the least liveable city, with Tripoli (Libya), Algiers (Algeria), and Lagos (Nigeria) just above, showing no improvement since the previous year.

Reflecting on ongoing global unrest, Bhattacharyya emphasised continuing challenges to liveability worldwide, particularly evident in recent civil demonstrations and protests.

“Since we conducted our survey, there have been more instances of civil unrest and demonstrations around the world, such as the campus protests across the US, suggesting continuing stress on liveability that is unlikely to ease soon,” Bhattacharyya said.