Five best and five worst cities to live in the world

(Image credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

published 19 August 2015

Melbourne remains best city in the world to live in according to the annual Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rankings. The Australian city, famed for its coffee bars and burgeoning cultural scene, tops a list that also includes three Canadian cities - Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto - in its top five.

The most dangerous countries in the world

Though this year's top five all attained scores of 90 or above, the 2015 survey presents a rather gloomier outlook for urbanites, with periods of unrest in previously stable areas and a fall in average scores.

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"Since 2010 average liveability across the world has fallen by one per cent, led by a 2.2 per cent fall in the score for stability and safety," this year's report states. "While this may seem marginal, it highlights that 57 of the cities surveyed have seen declines in liveability over the last five years."

The least liveable cities unsurprisingly tally with areas of conflict and natural disaster, with Damascus in Syria and Dhaka in Bangladesh, situated in the bottom two. The Ukrainian capital of Kiev saw the sharpest fall from last year's list, dropping from a score of 69 to 44 due to the civil unrest the city has suffered.

Not a single British city is included in the top 50, notes Metro. According to the report, the most liveable places are often "mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density", which is why larger metropolises such as New York and London lose out in favour of Calgary, Zurich and Honolulu.

The report is used by multinational companies to help them decide what to pay their employees when they move cities for work. It recommends a percentage amount employees should get on top of their salary if they move to a city with a poor liveability ranking where "most aspects of living are severely restricted".