Athens a ‘Big Mover’ Up the EIU’s Global Liveability Index

Athens, Greece

Athens is among the “biggest movers” up the The Global Liveability Index 2022 released this week by Economist Intelligence (EIU), which examines the challenges to urban living in 173 cities.

The Greek capital moved up the ranking by 19 spots joining Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, London, Manchester, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Los Angeles as the biggest movers this year and holding the 73rd spot overall in the ranking conducted between February 14 and March 13, 2022.

A European city, Vienna in Austria, leads the way in 2022 as one of the best cities in the world to live in, holding the top position also in 2019 and 2018.

Some of the key factors taken into consideration for the final ranking include stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. 

Three cities in Canada are in the top 10 cities in the world in terms of liveability this year. 

The complete EIU list is: Vienna (Austria), Copenhagen (Denmark), Zurich (Switzerland), Calgary and Vancouver (Canada), Geneva (Switzerland), Frankfurt (Germany), Toronto (Canada), Amsterdam (Netherlands). Osaka (Japan) and Melbourne (Australia).

Meanwhile, the biggest movers downward are Wellington and Auckland (New Zealand), Adelaide and Perth (Australia), Houston (US), Reykjavik (Iceland), Madrid (Spain), Taipei (Taiwan), Barcelona (Spain) and Brisbane.

Rival cities in terms of tourism to Athens, Madrid fell by 24 spots to 43rd and Barcelona by 19 spots to 35th, both in the past ranked highly for the standard of living. 

Further down the list are Tehran (Iran), Douala (Cameroon), Harare (Zimbabwe), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea),

Karachi (Pakistan), Algeria (Algeria) and last on the list are Tripoli (Libya), Lagos (Nigeria), and Damascus (Syria).

Looking ahead, EIU analysts point out that liveability is at risk over the next year citing the Russia – Ukraine war, Covid restrictions and higher global commodity prices, particularly for energy and food, which are set to continue affecting cities’ living standards. 

“The pandemic is not yet over. Our core assumption is that a new variant will cause a global wave of cases later this year, but that it will not be more aggressive than Delta or prove resistant to current vaccines. High- and middle-income cities will use a combination of social restrictions and a renewed vaccination push to contain the variant, affecting liveability again,” the report said. 

“Even where stability is not threatened, the cost-of-living crisis will dampen investment in infrastructure, healthcare and education, as well as the consumer spending that supports cultural life.”