The Global Liveability Index 2023 has been released by the Economist Group subsidiary, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Notably, three Canadian cities made it into the top 10, demonstrating the country’s supremacy in international liveability rankings. Canada is a top destination for an unmatched quality of life, with more entries in the top 10 than any other country. Explore top 3 most liveable Canadian cities in the world to understand why these Canadian cities are deemed the most liveable.
Three Canadian cities made headlines in the most recent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Global Liveability Index: Vancouver came in fifth, Calgary tied for seventh place with Geneva, Switzerland, and Toronto came in ninth. Remarkably, every single one of these locations received ratings higher than 96 out of 100 in the EIU’s extensive liveability analysis.
When compared to the rankings from the prior year, all ten of these cities remained in the top 10, albeit with minor variations. The biggest change was in Calgary, which dropped from third to ninth. Vancouver maintained its fifth-place position, but Toronto saw a slight shift, falling from eighth to ninth in 2022 to 2023.
Continue reading for a thorough examination of this year’s top ten most livable cities as well as a comprehensive explanation of how EIU determines its rankings.
Top most liveable Canadian cities in the world
With an outstanding overall liveability score of 98.4, Vienna took home the top spot in this year’s Global Liveability Index. Copenhagen and Melbourne, with their impressive livability credentials, trailed closely after.
Notably, the difference in overall liveability scores between the cities rated first and tenth was only two points, highlighting the intense competitiveness in the rankings. Due to two ties for seventh and tenth place, it’s interesting to note that there are 11 cities in the top 10. This highlights the intense competition and gives the global liveability landscape a fascinating new dimension.
Switzerland and Australia both secured two spots in the top 10 most liveable cities, making them stand out in addition to Canada’s noteworthy presence. Cities in Australia, such as Melbourne, and urban areas in Switzerland were highlighted extensively. Auckland and Osaka tied for tenth place, bringing a taste of the world to the list. Since Osaka is the only representative in this esteemed list from outside of North America, Europe, and the Australia-New Zealand region, its inclusion is especially remarkable. Examine the in-depth information to learn how cities from various locations contribute to the world’s liveability landscape.
Vancouver
In this year’s liveability rankings, Vancouver performed strongly, taking the top spot in Canada and an impressive fifth place worldwide.
The city’s noteworthy strengths are revealed by the breakdown of these scores, which yielded an overall liveability score of 97.3. Vancouver maintained its traditionally excellent grade in these important categories, scoring a perfect 100 in both healthcare and education. With a score of 97.2, the city also showed excellent performance in the areas of culture and ecology. Vancouver received good marks in stability (95) and infrastructure (96.4), despite being somewhat lower.
Top 3 most liveable Canadian cities in the world – Calgary
Despite not being regarded as one of Canada’s top cities for immigrants, like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, Calgary has always performed well in liveability surveys. Calgary’s remarkable score of 96.8 allowed it to remain in the top 10 from the 2022 report.
The city had remarkable qualities, receiving perfect scores of 100 in the areas of infrastructure, healthcare, education, and stability. However, the overall liveability score was marginally impacted by a comparatively lower performance in the culture and environment (87.3). Interestingly, Calgary is unique in that it is the only city—aside from Vienna, which is placed first—to receive four flawless 100s on different rating criteria. These findings point to a good trend in Calgary’s liveability traits and show that the city has the potential to continue being named Canada’s most liveable city.
Top 3 most liveable Canadian cities in the world – Toronto
Toronto, which has the ninth-highest population in Canada this year, has an overall liveability score of 96.5, just 0.3 points less than Calgary. Interestingly, there are noticeable variations when the scores are broken down.
Toronto demonstrated remarkable capabilities by achieving perfect scores of 100 in the areas of stability, healthcare, and education. The city received a score of 94.4 for culture and environment, but performed very poorly in infrastructure (89.3). Although Canada’s larger housing issues may have an impact on Toronto’s infrastructure ranking, this criterion also takes into account elements that explain why Calgary and Vancouver, in spite of their housing issues, did not have comparable effects. Examine the finer points to understand the unique factors influencing Toronto’s ranking in the liveability index.
What criteria are used to evaluate cities in this research study?
Cities are evaluated on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, as was previously said. The thorough explanations of each criterion are as follows:
Stability was further analyzed in detail with the following breakdown:
- Incidence of minor criminal activities.
- Incidence of violent criminal activities.
- Risk of terrorist threats.
- Risk of military conflicts.
- Risk of civil unrest or conflict.
Canadian communities routinely receive good marks in stability and safety criteria from past evaluations. Vancouver came in slightly behind with a rating of 95, while Toronto and Calgary both achieved flawless marks.
The healthcare metrics were further dissected into:
- Presence of private healthcare services.
- Standard of private healthcare services.
- Accessibility of public healthcare services.
- Standard of public healthcare services.
- Accessibility of over-the-counter medications.
- General indicators of healthcare.
The continuously good performance of Canadian cities in this area is attributed to the country’s typically high quality and accessibility of healthcare, which includes provision for temporary residents. Additionally, public healthcare is available to all Canadians.
Culture and environment can be further analyzed with the following breakdown:
- Humidity and temperature assessment.
- Evaluation of climate discomfort for travelers.
- Measurement of corruption levels.
- Examination of social or religious restrictions.
- Assessment of censorship levels.
- Accessibility of sporting facilities.
- Availability of cultural amenities.
- Diversity in food and drink options.
- Accessibility of consumer goods and services.
Among all the categories, the one for which no city made the top 10 was culture and environment, which had the greatest number of characteristics taken into account. With ratings of 94.4 and 97.2, respectively, Toronto and Vancouver did quite well, whereas Calgary only managed an 87.3—the only criterion on which the city failed to receive a perfect 100.
The metrics for education were further detailed as:
- Presence of private educational options.
- Standard of private education.
- Indicators of public education.
Worldwide, education proved to be a strong category. Not only did all of the Canadian cities rank in the top ten, but they all received perfect scores of 100 in this category.
The following categories of infrastructure indicators exist:
- Standard of road network.
- Standard of public transport.
- Standard of international links.
- Accessibility of high-quality housing.
- Standard of energy provision.
- Standard of water provision.
- Standard of telecommunications.
The infrastructure ranking, which was particularly controversial because it included “availability of good housing,” showed that the top three cities in Canada performed differently. Vancouver received a strong 96.4 and Alberta an amazing perfect score of 100. Toronto, on the other hand, saw the biggest drop in this category, earning an 89.3, which was a major contributor in the city’s fall to ninth place this year.
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