Australia, Canada score big on this 2015 ‘most livable cities’ list
The world, as a whole, may be trending in the wrong direction, but, at least in relative terms, Australia and Canada still both boast some of best cities to lay down your roots, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual livability list.
In fact, Australia has laid claim to the top spot for five years running.
The ranking takes a look at 140 cities from around the globe and uses 30 factors, such as safety, health care, and the environment, to come up with a score.
Overall, the study points to an unsettling trend. Since 2010, the average livability score world-wide has dropped by 1%, bogged down by a 2.2% decline in the stability and safety category. The blame falls primarily on the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, terrorism in France and Tunisia, and civil unrest in America, to name but a few factors. See the full list.
Over those past five years, 57 cities have actually shown sliding scores. Here’s a map of how some of the biggest movers have shifted in the past five years.
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Of note, the U.S. only has one city in the top 30, and that’s Honolulu, Hawaii.
Kiev took the biggest hit over the past year to join the likes of Damascus, Tripoli and Lagos near the bottom of the list. But enough about the negatives... here are the top five:
