With its relative political stability – not to mention its sunny skies – Hong Kong is a pretty nice place to live. Hong Kong came 43rd in the latest global livability rankings – a list that rates how easy it is to live in different places. The city climbed three places up from last year. Singapore also rose three places to 46th. The list was created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, part of the British media company the Economist Group.
But the scores for Hong Kong and Singapore – 88.8 and 88.7 respectively – have not changed. This means their rise was due mainly to a decline in livability in other cities.
The ranking rates 140 cities across the world based on more than 30 factors in five main categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Hong Kong and Singapore’s scores reflected that the two regions are relatively stable. Many other cities were affected by fear of terrorist attacks and political conflict.
The ranking showed that livability had fallen in 29 of the 140 cities this year. Paris fell from 29th last year to 32nd. This could because of the attacks on the French city over the last year.
Melbourne,in Australia, with a score of 97.5, stayed at the top of ranking. Meanwhile, Vienna, in Austria, came second; and Vancouver, in Canada, took third.
Suzhou ranked the highest among all mainland cities, at 72nd, while Beijing and Shanghai were at 73rd and 82nd, respectively.
Tokyo, in Japan, ranked 13th, the highest among all Asian cities.