Once again, Manchester was named the UK’s most liveable city and one of the Top 50 cities to live in worldwide. Find out what exactly put Manchester ahead of London, the second year in a row.
Every year, the Economist Intelligence Unit puts together the Global Liveability Survey.
The survey takes a closer look at 140 cities worldwide and rates them out of 100 points for their service in healthcare, education, stability, culture and environment and infrastructure.
Overall, Manchester scored an impressive 88.8 out of 100 and ended up three places higher than the year before. This shift was also due to a decline in liveability in other places.
London scored 87.2 points, putting it yet again in 53rd place. Ten places behind the capital of the Northern Powerhouse.
The fact that the capital scored significantly lower than Manchester has a couple of reasons: the levels of a perceived threat from terrorism and petty crime are higher in London, which lead to a ranking below Manchester regardless of its higher numbers in culture and infrastructure.
Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester said:
It’s very exciting to see that Manchester has once again been rated as the most liveable city in the UK and one of the top 50 globally. Results like this shows that the city’s ongoing growth is of global significance.
“Of course thanks to our comprehensive transport infrastructure, fantastic cultural offering, and ongoing property boom it’s really no surprise that Manchester keeps proving to be a major destination on the world stage.
“We’re seeing this reflected not only in terms of liveability, but also from the growing numbers of people wanting to visit the city. The strength of the city’s tourism offer is being increasingly recognised across the world, most recently by Lonely Planet naming Manchester in its Best in Travel 2016.
“Looking to the future, the next objective for Manchester is to meet growing demand by increasing the availability of living spaces. This is where upcoming developments like St. Michael’s, St. John’s and Circle Square will form such a critical part of the next step in the city’s progress.”
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, said:
Manchester has seen huge growth in the last decade, which can only mean that the city has been somewhere people want to live, work and visit for some years.
“Our ambition is to be in the top flight of international cities world-wide and our reputation as a cultural destination, as well as somewhere to invest in and work, has raised our profile as a global destination.
“Manchester is known to be a safe and friendly place for tourists and locals, with a huge amount to do and see, two of the world’s top football teams, along with top flight universities and ever growing employment opportunities. When you put all this together it’s easy to see why Manchester is somewhere people want to live.”
Melbourne was once again – the second consecutive year – named as the overall Most Liveable City in the World with a score of 97.5.
These are the 10 most liveable cities in the world:
Melbourne, Australia
Vienna, Austria
Vancouver, Canada
Toronto, Canada
Calgary, Canada
Adelaide, Australia
Perth, Australia
Auckland, New Zealand
Helsinki, Finland
Hamburg, Germany
And these are the 10 least liveable cities in the world:
Kiev, Ukraine
Douala, Cameroon
Harare, Zimbabwe
Karachi, Pakistan
Algiers, Algeria
Port Moresby,PNG
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Lagos, Nigeria
Tripoli, Libya
Damascus, Syria
