Amsterdam no longer one of the 10 most liveable cities in the world; Rotterdam also falls

Amsterdam fell in its ranking of the world's most liveable cities published by the Economist Intelligence Unit this week. The Dutch capital fell out of the top ten in the latest ranking conducted by the research division of British publisher The Economist Group. Last year, it was still ranked ninth.

Amsterdam now occupies the 20th position. Melbourne and Sydney have climbed up the rankings, replacing Amsterdam and Frankfurt in the top 10. Rotterdam also saw a sharp decline of 16 places, landing at spot 44 in a tie with Manchester. It wound up between London (46) and Stockholm (43).

Vienna retains its position as the world’s most liveable city this year, followed by the Danish capital Copenhagen. The Swiss cities of Zurich (6) and Geneva (7) are the other European cities in the top 10. Vancouver (5), Calgary (joint 7), Toronto (9), and Osaka (10) complete the top ten.

According to the survey, Western European cities face challenges due to increased social unrest and strikes. The Economist Intelligence Unit assesses cities based on criteria such as stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Initially designed to assist companies in calculating hardship allowances for their employees moving to new cities, it also serves as a reference point for determining the most and least desirable cities to live in.

At the bottom of the list of 173 cities, the Syrian capital Damascus holds the lowest position, just behind Algiers and the Lybian capital Tripoli, due to social unrest, terrorism, and conflict, according to the survey. The Ukrainian capital Kyiv ranks at 165, with the worst infrastructure score among all cities due to the Russian bombing of the capital. Moscow, which fell to 96th place in 2022, has remained stable this year.

According to the researchers, the quality of life in the surveyed cities has shown slight improvement over the past 15 years.