A new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has ranked 172 cities from around the world according to their 2022 Global Liveability Index. Three Canadian cities made the Top 10 in the list: Calgary (#3), Vancouver (#5), and Toronto (#8).
The EIU, a research division of a sister company to The Economist newspaper, considers several key factors when determining their rankings, including:
Stability: Prevalence and threats of crime, conflict, and terror.
Healthcare: Availability and quality of public and private healthcare
Culture & Environment: Climate liveability, levels of corruption, social or religious restrictions, availability of sport, culture, food & drink, and consumer goods & services.
Education: Availability and quality of public and private education.
Infrastructure: Quality of roads, transit options, housing, energy, water, and telecommunications.
Overall, the EIU found that the Liveability Index rose sharply in 2022, largely due to the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures. However, the global average score remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The Top 10 most liveable cities are:
CityLocationRankIndexStabilityHealthcareCulture & EnvironmentEducationInfrastructure
ViennaAustria199.110010096.3100100
CopenhagenDenmark29810095.895.4100100
ZurichSwitzerland396.39510096.391.796.4
CalgaryCanada396.39510090100100
VancouverCanada596.19010010010092.9
GenevaSwitzerland695.99510094.991.796.4
FrankfurtGermany795.79010096.391.7100
TorontoCanada895.49510095.410089.3
AmsterdamNetherlands995.39010097.291.796.4
OsakaJapan1095.110010083.110096.4
MelbourneAustralia1095.19583.398.6100100
The Top 10 list is dominated by cities in Canada and Western Europe. The EIU explains these rankings are because “life is almost back to normal in these cities on account of high covid-19 vaccination rates and the easing of restrictions.”
Canada’s Top Three Cities
Three Canadian cities made the Top 10 with Calgary outranking both Toronto and Vancouver. Calgary scored a perfect 100 in the infrastructure category while Toronto and Vancouver lagged slightly behind, possibly due to the lack of affordable housing in both cities.
While all three cities score highly in each category, it is notable that all three received a perfect score of 100 in the categories of healthcare and education, demonstrating the high quality systems Canada has in place to manage both of these domains of public life.
Let’s dive into Canada’s Top Three cities.
Calgary, Alberta — Ranked #3 Globally
Calgary is the third-most populous city in Canada, with a population of around 1.3 million. It is the largest city in Canada’s Prairie provinces, acting as an economic hub for the region.
