Melbourne and Sydney have bounced back up the Economist’s annual list of most liveable cities globally, coming in third and fourth respectively.
Perth and Adelaide were also among the biggest movers up the ranks in the past 12 months, rising 21 and 19 places respectively to equal 12th. Brisbane ranked 16th.
Vienna retained the top position as the world’s most liveable city, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, with the Danish capital Copenhagen coming in second.
The report remarked that a return to normalcy after the Covid-19 pandemic had lifted standards across the world, with the average liveability index across 172 cities reaching 76.2 out of 100.
That’s the highest score in 15 years, with healthcare scores improving the most, amid gains in education, culture, environment and infrastructure.
However, the report did note that scores for stability have slipped backwards compared with 2022, amid several instances of civil unrest and war.
Melbourne and Sydney took the spots off European cities Frankfurt and Amsterdam, overtaking them after a sharp decline in rankings during the first part of the pandemic.
Both Australian cities’ healthcare scores improved since last year, when Covid waves were still putting health systems under stress.
Sydney and Melbourne were followed in the top 10 by Vancouver, Zurich, Calgary, Geneva, Toronto and Osaka.
A number of European cities dropped out of the top 10, with London dropping 12 rankings to come in at 46th.
Edinburgh dropped the most, falling 23 places to 58th, with Manchester down 16 places to 44th. There were significant drops for Los Angeles and San Diego (both down 17 spots).
Cities in the Asia Pacific made the biggest gains across the list, accounting for eight of the top 10 movers up the rankings, as their economies emerged from the pandemic. Some of the biggest movers include Hanoi (up 20 spots), Kuala Lumpur (up 19) and Jakarta (up 14).
Syrian capital Damascus was the lowest-ranked city in the list, seeing no improvements across the liveability scores.
The report assessed which locations around the world provided the best or worst living conditions by assigning a rating of comfort for over 30 factors across five categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure.
It comes as Sydney retains its status as Australia’s most expensive city to live in, amid record high rents and house values.
In the Worldwide Cost of Living report, released by the EIU in December 2022, Sydney was ranked the 10th most expensive place to live in the world, having risen four positions from 2022.
Melbourne came in at 15th, up one spot, while Brisbane was ranked the 32nd most expensive city in the world.
