Vienna regains first place in the ranking of the most pleasant cities in the world, as in 2018 and 2019, according to a ranking published Thursday from which kyiv, faced with the Russian onslaught, is excluded, while Moscow plummets.
The Austrian capital is placed for the third time at the top of this index produced by the “Economist Intelligence Unit”, the research and analysis unit affiliated with the English weekly The Economist. It succeeds the New Zealand city of Auckland, which lost 33 places due to the extension of sanitary confinements.
Experts have rewarded Vienna’s stability, its educational and medical offer, as well as the quality of its infrastructure with the maximum score of 100 out of 100. The cultural and environmental factors there are almost ideal.
Europe largely dominates the top 10 with six cities, including Copenhagen and Zurich, which complete the podium behind Vienna, and Geneva (6th). Canada is well represented with three cities: Calgary (3rd tied), Vancouver (5th) and Toronto (8th).
Paris is ranked 19th, 23 places higher than in 2021. The Belgian capital Brussels appears in 24th place, just behind Montreal (23rd). London finished 33rd while Barcelona, reputed to be very lively, finished 35th, eight places ahead of Madrid (43rd).
Elsewhere in the world, Milan ranks 49th, New York 51st and Beijing 71st.
To be part of this panel, the city must be considered as a “business destination”, i.e. an economic and financial center, or be requested by customers. Beirut, seriously affected by the explosion of a port in 2020 and capital of a Lebanon plagued by strong political instability, is not included.
The authors indicate that kyiv had to be excluded from the report in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow (80th) tumbles fifteen places.
“Eastern European cities have slipped in the rankings due to increased geopolitical risks” and “the cost of living crisis, including soaring energy and food prices” , explained the head of the report to the EIU Upasana Dutt.
New indicators such as health restrictions had been introduced in the 2021 index, to assess the effects of the pandemic. The average quality of life has thus rebounded in 2022, but remains below the pre-Covid level.
Damascus remains the least welcoming city in the world.
