In keeping with a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Austrian city of Vienna once more topped the list of the perfect cities to live on the earth.
Global Viability Index 2023 they attributed Vienna’s success to a “winning combination” of stability, good culture and entertainment, reliable infrastructure, exemplary education, and health services.
“It has held this position usually over the past few years, and only the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the town vacate its top spot,” the report added.
Copenhagen also maintains its position because the second most liveable city on the earth, while the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne made the highest five.
![Removal of Covid restrictions 'incredibly' improved living conditions in Hong Kong: EIU](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107260587-16874022971687402295-29988406216-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1687404375&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
“They saw their healthcare scores improve from last yr, once they were still hit by waves of Covid that strained their healthcare systems,” the research firm said.
The annual report rated 172 cities in these categories that outline living conditions: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
The index rose last yr to a 15-year high because the world emerged from the pandemic, the EIU said. The typical index rating is now 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 a yr ago.
Top 10 cities to live in
- Vienna, Austria)
- Copenhagen, Denmark)
- Melbourne (Australia)
- Sydney, Australia)
- Vancouver, Canada)
- Zurich, Switzerland)
- Calgary (Canada)
- Geneva, Switzerland)
- Toronto Canada)
- Osaka (Japan), Auckland (Latest Zealand) – Draw
Asia-Pacific cities are making big moves
In keeping with the EIU, cities within the Asia-Pacific region saw a few of the largest increases on this yr’s rating – accounting for eight of the highest 10 changes.
This could be attributed to the “shift towards normality” after the pandemic, he added.
It’s price noting that Latest Zealand’s Wellington moved up 35 places to twenty third, while Auckland moved up 25 places to tenth on the index – following a drop within the rating last yr when Covid-19 forced periodic lockdowns.
Hong Kong also moved up 13 places to the 61st most liveable city on the earth.
“Hong Kong has modified quite well,” said Syetarn Hansakul, a senior analyst at EIU.
![The relatively delayed reopening of the Asia-Pacific region is working in its favour, an economist says](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107127001-16645000311664500028-25735265691-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1664505118&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
“It’s due to the removal of Covid restrictions, which has tremendously improved the standard of life and living conditions in Hong Kong last yr,” CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia told CNBC on Thursday.
The remaining of the world was consistently pushing for a reopening early last yr – but Hong Kong has been closely following mainland China’s tough policy and only began easing some restrictions in late 2022.
The EIU noted that notable improvements in education and health outcomes have also been seen within the emerging economies of Asia and the Middle East.
“Education has grow to be stronger as children return to highschool, with much less strain on hospitals and healthcare systems,” the report said.
Stability scores drop
While health, education, infrastructure, culture and entertainment performance improved last yr, stability saw a “marginal decline”, the EIU said.
Those in Western Europe, specifically, fell within the rankings because of the increased variety of staff’ strikes – falling in need of the “gains” made by cities in Asia and the Middle East, the EIU added.
For instance, German Frankfurt and Dutch Amsterdam dropped out of the highest 10.
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