Summary
- Auckland tops the rankings for the most liveable city globally, replacing Vienna, which had been holding the position since 2018.
- The Kiwi nation fared well in the list because of its successful policies in eliminating the pathogen within its borders.
- The impact of the coronavirus pandemic played a significant role in deciding the results.
Auckland has topped the list of the most livable cities across the globe, as per the research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
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Five major categories considered for assessment
EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2021 examined 140 cities across the globe on 5 basic parameters, stability, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and environment.
Auckland tops the charts
The city with the iconic Sky Tower, Auckland, secured the top spot, replacing Vienna, which otherwise had been holding the first position since 2018, thereby transcending all the other global cities.
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Other cities of the island nations like Japan and Australia also made the top 10.
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Pandemic played a major role
This time, the effect of the coronavirus pandemic was taken into consideration while calculating the liveability rankings and average scores worldwide.
The reason why the Kiwi nation fared well in the list
New Zealand was praised for successfully controlling the spread of the deadly COVID-19 through timely and stringent lockdowns and border policies. This allowed its society to open and resume its pre-COVID-19 lifestyle.
Must Read: What is NZ COVID-19 vaccination schedule? Who will be given priority?
In contrast, rankings of several European and Canadian cities tumbled due to extreme lockdowns. Hamburg’s ranking slumped down to 47th, while previous year’s topper, Vienna sunk to the 12th spot.
Hawaii’s Honolulu emerged as the top gainer because of its timely roll-out of the vaccination programme and solid progress in stemming the pandemic. As a result, it jumped 46 places to secure the 14th spot.
However, one of the oldest cities of the Middle East and the Syrian capital, Damascus, stayed behind at the last position due to its unending civil war, making it the least liveable city across the world.
A peek into the EIU’s most liveable cities across the globe
- Auckland
- Osaka
- Adelaide
- Wellington
- Tokyo
- Perth
- Zurich
- Geneva
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
EIU also releases ‘Worldwide Cost of Living Survey', which examines the cost of living across a wide range of cities globally.
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