Austria fends off Australia for world’s ‘most liveable’ title

While Osaka ranks top in Asia

For the second year in a row, Vienna is still the global champ for liveability.

The Austrian capital fended off competition from previous titleholder Melbourne to take the pinnacle of this year’s Global Liveability Index.

The annual survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found Australia’s second-largest city scoring 98.4 out of 100 to Vienna’s 99.1. The index’s summit-holder for seven years until 2018, Melbourne lost to Vienna in the metric of stability but edged out its European rival in terms of culture and environment.

Melbourne is also facing a resurgent Sydney, jumping from fifth place last year to third on the 140-city index.

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“However, Sydney remains behind its great rival, Melbourne. With both cities already scoring very highly across all categories, there is only limited potential for Sydney to displace either Melbourne or Vienna at the top of the rankings,” the report stated.

With a rating of 97.7, Osaka is Asia’s most liveable city, fourth worldwide. Tokyo ties Toronto in seventh place with a score of 97.2.

Calgary is rated North America’s most liveable city with a score of 97.5 or enough for fifth place globally, followed immediately by Vancouver which scored 97.3.

Adelaide, scoring 96.6, is 10th worldwide, behind Copenhagen which obtained a rating of 96.8.

No US or UK city appears in the top 10. Large “global” cities in advanced economies, such as London and New York City, scored lower than Vienna and Melbourne for stability and infrastructure but are able to match (or exceed) them in culture and environment, EIU noted.