The World's Most Livable Cities in 2021

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) named Auckland, New Zealand, the most livable city in 2021. Auckland received a score of 96 due to its ability to quickly control the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, public facilities remained operational, and students were able to return to school.

New Zealand also placed another city in the top 10: Wellington. This city ranked fourth with a score of 93.7, a significant improvement from its 16th-place ranking in 2020.

Several cities in neighboring Australia also received high livability ratings: Adelaide (94), Perth (93.3), Melbourne (92.5), and Brisbane (92.4). These cities even closed their borders with other countries to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.

Besides New Zealand and Australia, Japan and Switzerland each had two cities among the most livable. Japan had Osaka (94.2) and Tokyo (93.7), while Switzerland had Zurich (92.8) and Geneva (92.5).

Meanwhile, many cities in Europe and Canada experienced a decline in ranking, some even dropping out of the top 10. This was attributed to their ongoing struggle against the second wave of COVID-19.

The EIU measured the livability index using five indicators: stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was included in the assessment of several of these indicators.