The European Intelligence Unit (EUI) recently released the Global Liveability Index 2022. It ranked 173 cities on the basis of their liveability or living conditions, which was determined by five factors - stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Released on June 24, the list, for the first time, included five Indian cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore. All five scored poorly, ranked between 140 and 146. Delhi was ranked the best at 140, followed by Mumbai at 141, Chennai and Ahmedabad at 142 and 143 respectively. Bangalore scored the least out of the five Indian cities, ranking 146th with a score of 54.4 out of 100. This came as a shocker after the silicon valley of India topped the ‘Ease of Living Index 2020’, which was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The city received a score of 46.4, out of 100, in infrastructure. This score is the lowest among all Indian cities. Pakistan’s largest city Karachi was one of the five least livable cities in the world in the index, but it has still scored better than the IT capital of India in terms of infrastructure. The silicon valley of India scored equal to Lagos in Nigeria, the third-least livable city in the world, in terms of infrastructure. The infrastructure score is based on the quality of roads, public transportation system, international links, energy provision, telecommunications, water, and availability of good quality housing. When ranking, out of the five factors, the EUI attaches the highest weightage to stability and culture and environment, which account for 25% each. It is followed by healthcare and infrastructure with 20% each and education with 10%. The most livable city according to the index is Vienna. Western European cities along with a few Canadian cities dominate the top ten ranks. The Syrian capital, Damascus is the least livable city in the world.
