Pictures: Top 10 most livable cities in the world

Dubai ranks 75 among 140 countries on the annual list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit

by Aarti Nagraj

August 25, 2015

Dubai ranks among the top 10 cities that have seen the most improvement in their livability scores over the last five years, the 2015 livability index from the Economist Intelligence Unit has found.

The annual study, which surveyed 140 cities worldwide, ranked the most livable locations based on 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Ranking third among the top 10 cities that saw the most improved liveability scores over the last five years, Dubai was placed 75 on the overall list this year with a score of 74.7 (out of 100). Other cities that have seen their scores rise since 2010 include Harare, Kathmandu, Warsaw and Kuwait City.

Globally, the study found that in the last year alone, 53 cities or 37 per cent of all the places surveyed have seen changes in their liveability scores.

However, the majority of these changes have been negative – 38 in the past 12 months – reflecting a deterioration in stability in many cities around the world.

“Civil unrest, acts of terror and violence have triggered stability declines around the world. High-profile terrorist shootings in France and Tunisia and the ongoing actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in the Middle East have created a further heightened threat of terrorism in many countries,” EIU said.

“Protests over matters like police brutality, democracy and austerity have also raised the threat of civil unrest in many countries, notably the US where the deaths of a number of black people in police custody have led to widespread protests and accusations of racism.”

On the other hand, those cities moving up the ranking are largely in countries that have enjoyed periods of relative stability, the report added.

Overall, Australian and Canadian cities feature prominently among the best ranked locations in 2015 while Tripoli, Lagos, Port Moresby, Dhaka and Damascus round up the five least livable cities.