Vancouver is the world’s best place to live, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s livability shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria, Finland and Switzerland as the ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The report placed Vancouver as the most livable city in the world, with Vienna taking second place followed by Melbourne, Australia. The survey said “In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism.”

The main uncertainty for people living in those cities was climate-related, the EIU said.

The worst places were Algiers in Algeria, and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea because “many aspects of daily life present challenges”, the EIU said.

The survey has produced a mixed picture of the world’s cities. London was ranked in the 10th group, on a par with Dublin and Los Angeles, but one place below Manchester, four behind Berlin, five lower than Tokyo, and six off Helsinki, Frankfurt and Stockholm.

In Latin America, “no city manages to present ideal living conditions, neither do any fall into the category where extreme difficulties are faced”, the EIU said.

Montevideo in Uruguay, Santiago in Chile and Buenos Aires in Argentina offer the region’s best conditions. Bogota in Colombia and Caracas in Venezuela score the least favourably.

In Asia, cities in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan all score well, as do Australia’s main hubs.

Africa and the Middle East fare less well, with the EIU citing concerns about terror attacks, and economic and political instability.

Some of the worst performing cities include Harare in Zimbabwe and Lagos in Nigeria.

Top 10 Cities

Vancouver
Melbourne
Vienna
Geneva
Perth
Adelaide
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Calgary

Bottom 10 Cities

Tehran
Douala
Harare
Abidjan
Phnom Penh
Lagos
Karachi
Dhaka
Algiers
Port Moresby

Source: BBC News