• 172 cities were included in “The Global Liveability Index 2022” report. This year, Kyiv was excluded from the ranking due to the war
• Access to health care, crime rate, political stability, infrastructure and access to green spaces were assessed
• Eastern European cities, including Warsaw and Budapest, saw declines. Here, the reason given was “increasing diplomatic tension”
• You will find other topics of this type on the Onet homepage

“The concept of quality of life in cities is simple – we assess which places around the world offer the best or worst living conditions for residents,” reads the introduction to “The Global Liveability Index 2022” report. . 172 cities were included. This year, Kyiv was excluded from the ranking due to the war. The assessment was based on surveys conducted from mid-February to mid-March. Based on them, EIU assessed various aspects of life in each city, incl. access to healthcare, crime rates, political stability, infrastructure and access to green spaces.

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Vienna regains first place

Vienna regained first place last year was ranked 12th due to a pandemic. Besides on the podiums are Copenhagen and tied for Zurich and Calgary. Western European cities dominate the top ten – there are as many as six. In addition to the first three, Geneva (6th place), Frankfurt (7th) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) are added. Canada also stands out, as in addition to Calgary, Vancouver (5th position) and Toronto (8th) were in the top ten. Osaka and Melbourne close the Top 10 list together.

The authors of the ranking point out that the pandemic has had a very significant impact on the deterioration of living conditions in cities. The average number of points scored by cities is still lower than before the pandemic. However, there are cities where living conditions have improved considerably. The biggest jump in the ranking was recorded by German cities: Frankfurt, which rose 32 places, Hamburg – a jump of 31 places, and Düsseldorf – 22 points. The largest drops were recorded in New Zealand cities: Wellington (down 46 places) and Auckland (down 33 places), as well as in Australia: Adelaide (down from 3rd place to 30th place ) and Perth (down 26 places).

The results were also influenced by the war in Ukraine, which broke out when polls were already being collected. For this reason, Kyiv was removed from the ranking. The position of two Russian cities has been affected by the effects of Western economic sanctions and other forms of boycott. Because of them, Moscow fell 15 places, Saint-Petersburg 13 places compared to the previous ranking. Other Eastern European cities, including Warsaw and Budapest, also saw declines. Here, the reason was cited as “growing diplomatic tension”.

Despite this the overall picture that emerges from the ranking is optimistic – the average score this year is 73.6 points (out of 100 possible), compared to 69.1 a year ago. However, we are still not back to pre-pandemic levels, when the average figure was 75.9.

Among the top five rated categories Culture and environment, education and health, which have been hit hard by the lockdown, have improved. The infrastructure score remains stable and the feeling of stability worsens.