Brisbane pips Sydney, Auckland tops in global liveability index
Brisbane has made the top 10 of The Economist’s liveability index in which Australia and New Zealand dominated this year because of the ability to contain COVID-19.
Brisbane River looking over Eagle St. Image: Brisbane Local Marketing on Unsplash
While Brisbane came in 10th, it was beaten by Adelaide at number 3, Perth, number 6 and Melbourne 8th. Auckland topped the list ahead of Osaka.
Sydney was beaten out of the top 10 and came in 11th.
Many of the European and Canadian cities that have previously dominated the rankings fell well down the list because of the restrictions imposed in dealing with the pandemic.
The Syrian capital, Damascus, was considered the least liveable city in the world. Data was gathered in February and March, before the latest Victorian lockdowns.
The index said Auckland scored highly because it was able to keep its theatres, restaurants and other cultural attractions open and students had been able to continue to go to school.
Zurich was the highest ranking European city at seven, followed by Geneva at eight.
No American cities made the top 10 and Hamburg, German, had the biggest fall of 34 places to 47.
