Tehran has topped the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in livability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The scores were compiled and weighted between 1 and 100 with 1 considered intolerable and 100 being ideal. Tehran’s overall livability score was at 50.8 out of 100, registering an improvement of 5% since 2011. Dubai (in the UAE) and Harare (in Zimbabwe) followed Tehran by 4.6% and 4.4% improvement over the past five years. While Tehran ranks 126 out of 140, the EIU said that there were only six cities that had improved scores over the past year.
EIU also assessed which locations around the world had the best or worst living conditions by looking at over 30 factors ranging from stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. The world’s most livable city was Melbourne, followed by Vienna, Vancouver and Toronto. Adelaide and Calgary in Canada tied for fifth place. Six of the 10 top scoring cities came from Australia and Canada.
“Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density,” said the EIU, adding that these areas provide a variety of recreational activities without leading to “high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure”.
The five least-livable cities were Damascus followed by Tripoli, Libya; Lagos, Nigeria; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
