While the world quality of life rankings in 2021 were still largely determined by the corona pandemic, there will be significant improvements in 2023. The average index value is higher than it has been in 15 years.
According to the EIU World Quality of Life Rankings 2023 report, quality of life has improved significantly worldwide. The average index value for 172 cities examined (except Kiev) is 76.2 out of 100 points, marking the highest value in 15 years. EIU researchers attribute this improvement primarily to the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic and the gradual improvement in quality of life in many developing countries. Advances in healthcare as well as increases in the areas of education, culture, the environment and infrastructure have contributed significantly to this. Only the stability has decreased slightly due to a few incidents of unrest. This year’s report is summarized with the theme “Optimism amidst instability.”
The consulting service provider EIU carried out a comprehensive study on the quality of life in 172 cities worldwide. Over 30 factors were taken into account with different weightings in the categories of stability (25 percent), healthcare (20 percent), culture and environment (25 percent), education (10 percent) and infrastructure (20 percent).
This is how livable the different regions are
The seven regions of the world were examined in terms of their quality of life. The result shows that the Western Europe region has the highest quality of life with an overall score of 92.3, followed by North America with 90.6 points. The Asia-Pacific (73.5), Eastern Europe (72.9) and Latin America (67.2) regions occupy the middle places. The Middle East and North Africa (61.4) and Sub-Saharan Africa (53.8) take the last two places. Overall, all regions have improved compared to the previous year. There were increases in most categories, but stability deteriorated compared to the previous year.
These cities have fallen and risen the most
Numerous European cities can be found in the list of the biggest relegated teams, particularly in Great Britain. Edinburgh saw the biggest fall, falling 23 places, London fell 12 places and Manchester fell 16 places. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, also did not have a good year and fell by 22 places. In addition, the two US cities of Los Angeles and San Diego in the state of California are in a downward trend and have each lost 17 places.
According to the EIU, numerous strikes and unrest in many cities in Western Europe last year led to a decline in stability. An example of this was the unrest in France due to the pension reform. However, the EIU does not expect this unrest to subside in the near future, as increased inflation, higher food prices and disrupted supply chains continue to cause dissatisfaction. The change in interest rates and the associated risks in the financial sector have also increased instability and increased the risk of a financial crisis. In addition, an increase in crime can be observed in some cities.
The reason for the deterioration in the ranking, in addition to an increase in instability, is also due to the rise of Asia-Pacific cities in particular, which have recorded large gains in the last year. Eight of the ten promoted cities come from this area. The New Zealand cities of Wellington and Auckland recorded the biggest gains, with improvements of 35 and 25 places respectively. The Australian city of Perth is in third place among the biggest movers. Other cities on the rise include Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Jakarta. Two European cities that have seen significant gains are Bucharest and Stuttgart. The two cities benefited in particular from improvements in the area of healthcare after the end of the COVID-19 restrictions.
The top ten most livable cities
With an index value of 98.4, Vienna has once again reached the top spot as the most livable city in the world. The city continues to offer an outstanding combination of stability, infrastructure, education, healthcare, culture and entertainment, earning it the top spot four times in the last five years. Copenhagen is in second place with an index score of 98 and has maintained its position from last year. The Australian metropolises Melbourne (97.7) and Sydney (97.4) take third and fourth place. Three Canadian cities and two Swiss cities are represented in the other top ten. Osaka and Auckland share tenth place.
Editorial team finanzen.net