[imagesource: TripAdvisor]

When it comes to the annual report from the Economist, there’s a bit of an ongoing tussle between the Austrian capital and an Australian city over the title for the world’s most liveable city.

For seven years from 2011, Melbourne held the title of the world’s most liveable city.

That was before being unseated in 2018 by Vienna.

While Melbourne is still in the top 10 for the Economist’s Intelligence Unit’s 2022 survey, Vienna has taken the crown this year.

As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic held major sway over the rankings with the top 10 cities among those with the least restrictions.

The New Zealand city of Auckland came out tops in 2021 but fell to 34th place due to the numerous COVID-19 restrictions.

More from The Guardian:

“Vienna, which slipped to 12th place in our rankings in early 2021 as its museums and restaurants were closed, has since rebounded to first place, the position it held in 2018 and 2019,” the report said.

Image: Travel and Leisure

“Stability and good infrastructure are the city’s main charms for its inhabitants, supported by good healthcare and plenty of opportunities for culture and entertainment.”

Melbourne wasn’t the only Australian city to tumble down the rankings, per SBS News:

Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all took their place in the top 10 in 2021 but have fallen to 27th, 30th and 32nd respectively. Melbourne dropped from eighth place to number 10 in the last 12 months.

The index cited a slow lifting of COVID-19 restrictions as the reason for those state capitals losing ground.

Otherwise, Europe is leading the charge with six of the top 10 most liveable cities.

Here’s the full top 10 from the Global Liveability Index 2022:

1. Vienna
2. Copenhagen
3. Zurich
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. Geneva
7. Frankfurt
8. Toronto
9. Amsterdam
10. Osaka and Melbourne

Some cities had to be excluded from the ranking due to crippling financial crises (Beirut), and political tensions:

Kyiv, after the Russian invasion on 24 February, forced the Economist to abort its survey of the city. Russia’s capital, Moscow, saw its liveability ranking fall by 15 places, while St Petersburg slipped by 13 places.

“Increased censorship accompanies the ongoing conflict,” the report noted. “Russian cities are additionally seeing restrictions on culture and environment as a result of western economic sanctions.”

Other eastern European cities were considered less stable following “raised diplomatic tensions” due to the war in Ukraine, too.

Damascus (the capital of war-torn Syria), Lagos, and Tripoli were listed as the world’s three least liveable cities for 2022.

[sources:guardian&SBSnews]