Most livable cities

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Melbourne was ranked as the world's most liveable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 until 2017.

The world's most livable cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on an annual survey of living conditions. In addition to providing clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, a ‘livable’ city must also generate a sense of community and offer hospitable settings for all, especially young people, to develop social skills, a sense of autonomy and identity.^[1]

Regions with cities commonly ranked in the top 50 include Asia (Japan and Singapore), Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), Northern America (Canada) as well as Western Europe (Austria, Germany and Switzerland).^[2] Three examples of such surveys are Monocle's "Most Liveable Cities Index", the Economist Intelligence Unit's "Global Liveability Ranking", and "Mercer Quality of Living Survey". Numbeo has the largest statistics and survey data based on cities and countries.^[3] Deutsche Bank's Liveability Survey is another ranking of cities by quality of life.

Livability rankings may be used by employers assigning hardship allowances as part of job relocation.

The EIU's Global Liveability Ranking

Vienna has been top-ranked by the Mercer Quality of Living Survey since 2009 and topped the EIU Ranking in 2018.

Sydney was ranked as the world's third most liveable city in 2019, making it the second Australian city in the top five. Australia and Canada are the only two countries to have more than two cities in the top ten.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) publishes an annual Global Liveability Ranking, which ranks 140 cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of their stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.^[4]

Melbourne, Australia, had been ranked by the EIU as the world's most livable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 to 2017.^[5] Between 2004 and 2010, Vancouver, Canada, was ranked the EIU's most livable city, with Melbourne sharing first place in the inaugural 2002 report. Vancouver has ranked third since 2015, while Vienna, Austria, ranked second until 2018 when it climbed to the top spot.

The Syrian capital, Damascus, was ranked the least livable city of the 140 assessed in 2016.^[6]

The EIU also publishes a Worldwide Cost of Living Survey that compares the cost of living in a range of global cities.^[7]

EIU's Global Liveability Ranking 2019[8]
	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Melbourne	Australia
3	Sydney	Australia
4	Osaka	Japan
5	Calgary	Canada
6	Vancouver	Canada
7	Toronto	Canada
7	Tokyo	Japan
9	Copenhagen	Denmark
10	Adelaide	Australia

Mercer's Quality of Living Ranking

American global human resources and related financial services consulting firm Mercer annually releases its Mercer Quality of Living Survey, comparing 221 cities based on 39 criteria. New York City is given a baseline score of 100 and other cities are rated in comparison. Important criteria are safety, education, hygiene, health care, culture, environment, recreation, political-economic stability, public transport and access to goods and services. The list is intended to help multinational companies decide where to open offices or plants, and how much to pay employees. Mercer has ranked Austria's capital Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey since 2009.

Mercer's Quality of Living Ranking 2019[9]
	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Zürich	Switzerland
3	Vancouver	Canada
3	Munich	Germany
3	Auckland	New Zealand
6	Düsseldorf	Germany
7	Frankfurt	Germany
8	Copenhagen	Denmark
9	Geneva	Switzerland
10	Basel	Switzerland
11	Sydney	Australia
11	Amsterdam	Netherlands
13	Berlin	Germany
14	Bern	Switzerland
15	Wellington	New Zealand
16	Toronto	Canada
17	Melbourne	Australia
18	Singapore	Singapore
19	Ottawa	Canada
19	Hamburg	Germany
21	Perth	Australia
21	Montréal	Canada
23	Nuremberg	Germany
23	Stockholm	Sweden
25	Oslo	Norway
25	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg
27	Stuttgart	Germany
28	Brussels	Belgium
29	Adelaide	Australia
30	Canberra	Australia
31	Helsinki	Finland
32	Calgary	Canada
33	Dublin	Ireland
34	San Francisco	United States
35	Brisbane	Australia

The full ranking includes 231 cities.

Monocle's Quality of Life Survey

Zurich, Switzerland, has been top ranked repeatedly by the Mercer, Monocle and Deutsche Bank liveability surveys.

Since 2006, the lifestyle magazine Monocle has published an annual list of livable cities. The list in 2008 was named "The Most Liveable Cities Index" and presented 25 top locations for quality of life.

Important criteria in this survey are safety/crime, international connectivity, climate/sunshine, quality of architecture, public transport, tolerance, environmental issues and access to nature, urban design, business conditions, pro-active policy developments and medical care.

The 2019 Monocle Survey determined the world's most livable city was Zurich, followed by Tokyo, Munich and Copenhagen.^[10]

Monocle's Quality of Life Survey 2019[10]
	City	Country/Region
1	Zürich	Switzerland
2	Tokyo	Japan
3	Munich	Germany
4	Copenhagen	Denmark
5	Vienna	Austria
6	Helsinki	Finland
7	Hamburg	Germany
8	Madrid	Spain
9	Berlin	Germany
10	Lisbon	Portugal
11	Melbourne	Australia
12	Stockholm	Sweden
13	Sydney	Australia
14	Kyoto	Japan
15	Vancouver	Canada
16	Singapore	Singapore
17	Amsterdam	Netherlands
18	Barcelona	Spain
19	Paris	France
20	Düsseldorf	Germany
21	Auckland	New Zealand
22	Fukuoka	Japan
23	Brisbane	Australia
24	Oslo	Norway
25	Hong Kong	Hong Kong[note 1]

Deutsche Bank Liveability Survey

The 2019 survey showed the following cities to be highest in quality of life, for numerous reasons^[11] (e.g. style, affordability, happiness and pollution etc.):

Cities with the highest quality of life 2019[11]
	City	Country/Region
1	Zürich	Switzerland
2	Wellington	New Zealand
3	Copenhagen	Denmark
4	Vienna	Austria
5	Edinburgh	United Kingdom
6	Singapore	Singapore
7	Melbourne	Australia
8	Boston	United States
9	Sydney	Australia
10	San Francisco	United States

Global Finance's World's Best Cities to Live

Singapore is one of the only few sovereign city-states to exist in contemporary history. Notwithstanding, it has been highly ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world, especially in regards to education, healthcare, infrastructure and safety.

The 2020 Global Finance's list determined the world's most livable city was Tokyo, followed by Singapore and London.

The World's Best Cities to Live In 2020[12]
	City	Country/Region
1	Tokyo	Japan
2	London	United Kingdom
3	Singapore	Singapore
4	New York	United States
5	Melbourne	Australia
6	Frankfurt	Germany
7	Paris	France
8	Seoul	South Korea
9	Berlin	Germany
10	Sydney	Australia

The World's Best Cities to Live In 2017[13]
	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Vancouver	Canada
3	Singapore	Singapore
4	Melbourne	Australia
5	Copenhagen	Denmark
6	Zürich	Switzerland
7	Berlin	Germany
8	Sydney	Australia
9	Auckland	New Zealand
10	Tokyo	Japan

See also

• European Green Capital Award
• List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees
• List of metropolitan areas by population

Notes

References