The post-pandemic years have been rough on Australian cities in terms of overall liveability thanks to border shutdowns and covid-related disruptions. But two Australian cities have bounced back in a major way right up to the top and Sydney is one of them. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2023, Sydney is the fourth most liveable city in the world, right behind Vienna, Austria and yep, Melbourne. After failing to make it to the top 10 during the Covid years, Sydney has once again rocketed its way to the top five.
The survey looked at 173 cities around the world assessing factors such as stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure. Both Melbourne and Sydney have found their way back to the top 5 due to significant improvements in the healthcare category. Unsurprisingly, Vienna is the most liveable city in the world, again.
Global Liveability Index 2023
What makes Sydney one of the top 5 Most Liveable Cities in the World? We like to think it’s because of our stunning beaches, excellent coffee and natural landscapes. Plus, Sydney’s nightlife is slowly but surely bouncing back strong.
The Index takes into account more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five categories: stability (25%), healthcare (20%), culture and environment (25%), education (10%), and infrastructure (20%).
Sydney and Melbourne both received a score of 100 for healthcare, education and infrastructure. Sydney further received a stability score of 95 and a score of 94.4 for culture and environment.
“They have seen their scores in the healthcare category improve since last year when they were still affected by COVID waves that stressed their healthcare systems,” the report said.
But it’s not just Sydney and Melbourne that have earned bragging rights in 2023. Moving an impressive 21 and 19 places respectively, Perth and Adelaide climbed all the way to the 12th position in a tie. Brisbane was not far behind at number 16.
The Top Ten Most Liveable Cities of 2023
According to the index, the following cities are the top ten most liveable in the world:
- Vienna, Austria
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Vancouver, Canada
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Calgary, Canada (tied)
- Geneva, Switzerland (tied)
- Toronto, Canada
- Osaka, Japan (tied)
- Auckland, New Zealand (tied)
Meanwhile, the Syrian city of Damascus remains the least liveable being “held back by social unrest, terrorism and conflict.”
Read the full report here.