The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released this year’s Global Liveability Index, with Osaka, Japan, being the only Asian city ranked as one of the world’s top 10 best places to live in.
The index, placed Osaka, the capital city of Japan’s Osaka Prefecture with a population of over 2 million, in the No. 10 spot, tying with Melbourne, Australia.
Osaka, which reached its peak in previous years as the world’s second-beste city to live in, received a score of 100 for stability, healthcare and education this year. However, it received a score of 83.1 for culture and environment, which resulted in its No. 10 spot.
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The EIU used a 1-to-100 score system that scores cities based on its different categories, with 1 being “intolerable” and 100 considered to be “ideal.” While this year’s scores in general have reportedly improved, the overall index score remains lower than that of the pre-pandemic era.
Geopolitical unrest was also a factor the EIU looked into when scoring the cities, prompting the organization to remove Kyiv from its list given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started in February.
U.S. cities are nowhere to be found on the top 10 list of best cities in the world to live in. Speaking to CNBC Make It, a representative for the EIU said Atlanta reached No. 26 on the list, while Washington, D.C., took the No. 30 spot.
Vienna was ranked first as the world’s best city to live in, while Copenhagen placed second. Zurich and Calgary, Canada, both tied for third place.
As for the world’s worst place to live in, Tehran, Iran, was ranked No. 1. Other Asian cities that made the list include Dhaka, Bangladesh, which took the No. 4 spot. Meanwhile, Karachi, Pakistan, reached No. 6 on the list, and Damascus, Syria, took the No. 10 spot.
Featured Image via Pedro Szekely (CC BY-SA 2.0)
