Global liveability ranking: Melbourne tops the charts again as terror and austerity makes European cities less attractive
"Liveability" has fallen in cities across Europe, thanks to terror attacks and economic instability, figures published by the Economist showed today.
The global liveability index ranked London at 53rd place out of the 140 cities studied.
If you want a more pleasant environment, move to Melbourne instead. For the fifth year running, the Australian city has once more been crowned "most liveable" by the Economist’s ranking, which rates cities' infrastructure, stability, culture, education and health care.
Overall, global ratings have dropped 2.2 per cent, and in many places this comes as a result of increased political instability and terror attacks.
Europe has slumped particularly over the past five years, as Zurich is the only city in Western Europe to have become more liveable in that time – if only marginally.
Paris has dropped sharply in the ranking following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January, while Athens continues to slide as the country’s economic woes drag on.
Kiev, hit by the political crisis in Ukraine, is now one of the ten least liveable cities in the world.
The Economist's Jon Copestake commented:
The threat to personal safety, whether in the form of crime, unrest or conflict, has knock-on implications for other aspects of liveability. Last year, the conflict in Ukraine, the terror attack in Paris and austerity in Athens formed a sobering backdrop to regional liveability.
It’s not all bad news, however, as some cities further down on the list have had big jumps in the past five years.
