Top ten cities: 1. Melbourne 97.5 2. Vienna 97.4 3. Vancouver 97.3 4. Toronto 97.2 5. Calgary 96.6 6. Sydney 96.1 7. Helsinki 96 8. Perth 95.9 9. Adelaide 95.9 10. Auckland 95.7
The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100
on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability,
health care, culture and environment, education,
and infrastructure.
Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure. Seven of the top ten scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, with population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per sq km respectively. Elsewhere in the top ten, Finland and New Zealand both have densities of 16 people per sq km.
At the other end of the spectrum sit Dhaka and Harare in 139th and 140th places.