World’s Most and Least Livable Cities

In the US, people are moving out of the major cities like New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. But in the world generally, the urban population continues to grow. In 2021, 51% of the world’s population lived in cities.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has released its latest list of the world’s most and least “livable” cities. In determining the rankings, the following weighting was given:

Healthcare (20%)

Culture & Environment (25%)

Stability (25%)

Education (10%)

Infrastructure (20%)

Canada had two cities in the top five and three in the top 10. Switzerland had one in the top five and another one in the top 10. No US cities scored in the top 10.

The top five: 

Vienna, Austria

Copenhagen, Denmark

Zurich, Switzerland

Calgary, Canada

Vancouver, Canada

The bottom five: 

Damascus, Syria

Lagos, Nigeria

Tripoli, Libya

Algiers, Algeria

Karachi, Pakistan

I’ve been to all five of the best-rated cities, and from what I experienced, their status at the top of this list doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been to three of the five worst-rated cities (those in Africa), and I found them all stark and scary, although Algiers has, at least, a redeeming African urban cultural scene.

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