Three of Top 5 most livable cities in the world are Canadian

Friday, August 19, 2016, 11:46 AM - Canada has once again topped the Economist Intelligence Unit's list of the most livable cities in the world, taking three of the top five spots.

The annual livability index released Thursday, shows the top five cities match last year's list. Melbourne, Australia, has been ranked the world's most livable city for the sixth year in a row. Prior to that, Vancouver held the top spot.

The report lists 140 cities and ranks them on a number of criteria, including: health care, education, security, infrastructure and the environment (including weather conditions). Each city is assigned a score out of 100.

This year, Vancouver scored 97.3, Toronto 97.2 and Calgary 96.6.

Image courtesy: Ashley Hyshka -- Downtown Vancouver, Vancouver, B.C.

"Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density," the report notes. "These can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure."

The results show all three Canadian cities score highly in health care and education. Toronto and Calgary received a perfect score of 100 for stability, while Vancouver scored 95.

Image courtesy: Maya Marrouch -- Toronto, Ontario

"Over five years, 96 of the 140 cities surveyed have seen some change in overall livability scores," the report highlights. "Of these cities, 71 have seen declines in livability, up from 52 just six months ago."

Heightened fears over terrorism, social unrest and ongoing civil war are some of the factors contributing to the decline in scores, the report notes.

Here's the top five most livable cities:

• Melbourne, Australia
• Vienna, Austria
• Vancouver, Canada
• Toronto, Canada
• Tie: Calgary, Canada and Adelaide, Australia

The five least livable: 

• Kyiv, Ukraine
• Douala, Cameroon
• Harare, Zimbabwe
• Karachi, Pakistan
• Algiers, Algeria

This latest survey comes amid several recent rankings for Canada and within Canada, including:

• The happiest countries in the world
• The best quality of life
• The best countries in the world
• The most (and least) sleepless cities in Canada
• The most (and least) flood-prepared cities in Canada
• The countries most (and least) curious about climate change
• The most contented cities in Canada

SOURCE: Report 

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