(CNN) — Melbourne has finally lost the title of world's most liveable city after a seven-year reign. It was pipped to the post by Vienna, which received an overall score of 99.1% on the annual list, which assesses stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure in 140 different cities. EIU attributes Austria's capital's rise to the top to increased security scores due to a return to relative stability across much of Europe after high-profile terrorist attacks in recent years. Melbourne's unseating isn't the only noticeable shift after years of very little change among the highest ranks. New entries Japan's Osaka has jumped up to third place. Pixabay, Creative Commons Japan 's Osaka and Tokyo have now moved up into the top ten, coming in third and seventh place respectively. Both cities achieved their highest ranking on the survey this year thanks to a decline in crime rates as well as improvements in public transportation. "Osaka stands out especially, having climbed six positions, to third place, over the past six months, closing the gap with Melbourne," the EIU's annual ranking report summary says. "It is now separated from the former top-ranked city by a mere 0.7 of a percentage point. Osaka's improvements in scores for quality and availability of public transportation, as well as a consistent decline in crime rates, have contributed to higher ratings in the infrastructure and stability categories respectively." Hamburg and Helsinki, who held tenth and ninth place last year, have dropped out of the top ten. This year's ninth place spot went to Copenhagen, who achieved a score of 96.8%, making it the only other European city in the top rankings. And while Australia may have missed out on first place this time, three of its cities were among the best scoring, with Adelaide (96.6%) and Sydney (97.4%) coming behind Melbourne in 10th and fifth place. Canada performed well as well, with Toronto tying with Tokyo for seventh position on a score of 97.2% and Calgary (97.5%) and Vancouver (97.3%) taking fourth and sixth place respectively. Biggest improvements, falls After Vienna, Copenhagen was the only other European city in the top ten. Pixabay, Creative Commons According to the report, global business centers tend to be victims of their own success. "The 'big city buzz' that they enjoy can overstretch infrastructure and cause higher crime rates," it says. For instance, New York (57th), London (48th) and Paris (19th) are all prestigious hubs with plenty of great recreational activities, but all suffer from higher levels of crime, congestion and public transport problems than are deemed comfortable. That said, "they still sit within the highest tier of liveability, especially when contrasted with the worst-scoring locations." Meanwhile the French capital and the UK's Manchester, whose rankings have fallen in previous years due to terrorist attacks, recorded the biggest improvements of the past 12 months in overall scores and stability ratings. "Although they have been subject to high-profile terrorist attacks in recent years, which have shaken stability and led to cumbersome security measures, both cities have shown resilience in the face of adversity," the report adds. "Nevertheless, with such high scores already in place, the impact of these improvements has not been enough to significantly affect livability in any of the top-tier cities." It was also good news for Hong Kong , which saw a dramatic fall in its ranking back in 2015. The Asian city achieved a score of 91.3% this time round, moving up to 35th place. However, fellow Asian cities Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Colombo and Dhaka didn't fare as well, with all four listed among the nine cities whose livability ranking has declined in the past year. Puerto Rico's San Juan, which was hit by two hurricanes in 2017, experienced the sharpest fall, dropping 21 places down the list to 89th place, with a score of 69.8%. Unsurprisingly Syria's war-torn capital Damascus continues to languish at the bottom of the list, with an overall score of 30.7%. Bangladesh's Dhaka and Nigeria's Lagos were just above at 139th and 138th place, scoring 38.0% and 38.5% respectively. On a larger scale, global livability has improved for the second year in a row, increasing from 74.8% last year to 75.7% in 2018. Related content 5 places to visit in August Most liveable cities 2018: 1. Vienna, Austria 2. Melbourne, Australia 3. Osaka, Japan 4. Calgary, Canada 5. Sydney, Australia 6. Vancouver, Canada 7. (tie) Toronto, Canada 7. (tie) Tokyo, Japan 9. Copenhagen, Denmark<doc-sep>Sign up to FREE email alerts from our Property Market newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Vienna has dislodged Melbourne as the world's most liveable city for the first time. The southeastern Australian city has been dislodged by the Austrian capital after having clinched the title for the previous seven years consecutively. The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Index began in 2004 in its current form and ranks 140 urban city centres on a range of factors from infrastructure, crime and education to healthcare and political and social stability. Osaka in Japan also ranked in the top three while Calgary, Canada and Sydney, Australia completed the EIU's top five ranked cities. On the flip-side, the war-torn Syrian capital Demascus ranked highest in the survey's list of the ten least liveable cities in the world. The top three in this list also included Dhaka, Bangladesh and Lagos in Nigeria. (Image: age fotostock RM) (Image: Getty) (Image: Cultura RF) The EIU said that high levels of conflict and terrorism had an adverse effect on some survey categories that contributed to some cities being positioned at the foot of the table. Closer to home, Manchester was ranked the highest in the United Kingdom, moving up a staggering 16 places from last year taking it to 35th, 13 places higher than London in 48th. Republic of Ireland capital Dublin also ranked higher than London, coming in at 41st place in the study. Western Europe was ranked the best performing region in the study, while north America was a close runner-up and Asia and Australasia ranked third best. The 10 most liveable cities 2018 Vienna, Austria Melbourne, Australia Osaka, Japan Calgary, Canada Sydney, Australia Vancouver, Canada Tokyo, Japan Toronto, Canada Copenhagen, Denmark Adelaide, Australia The 10 least liveable cities 2018<doc-sep>THE most and least liveable cities in the world have been announced, and the winner is just a short flight from the UK. However London isn’t even in the top 20 – and Manchester comes in 36th place. 2 Vienna has been named as the most liveable city in the world The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index started in 2004 and looks at 140 cities each year. It ranks them on factors like crime, education, infrastructure, healthcare, and political and social stability. The best city to live in the world for 2018 has been announced as Vienna, knocking Melbourne off the top spot. Art and culture is not in short supply in Vienna, with theatre, opera, classical music, fine art and museums in abundance. 2 Damascus has been named as the least liveable city in the world due to the war there Credit: AFP or licensors Vienna is also the only city in the world that’s a recognised wine-growing region. While Vienna came top, it was followed by Melbourne, Osaka and Calgary. The only other European entry in the top ten was Copenhagen. London wasn’t in the top 20 at all, coming in 48th place on the list. Meanwhile war-torn Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least liveable city in the word, followed by Dhaka and Lagos on the list. The 10 most liveable cities 2018 Vienna, Austria Melbourne, Australia Osaka, Japan Calgary, Canada Sydney, Australia Vancouver, Canada Tokyo, Japan Toronto, Canada Copenhagen, Denmark Adelaide, Australia The 10 least liveable cities 2018 Damascus, Syria Dhaka, Bangladesh Lagos, Nigeria Karachi, Pakistan Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Harare, Zimbabwe Tripoli, Libya Douala, Cameroon Algiers, Algeria Dakar, Senegal The safest country in the world was announced in the Global Peace Index in June, and was named as Iceland. This is the eleventh year the country came top of the list. Each year, an Australian think tank crunches data to work out which countries are safest and most dangerous out of of 163 independent states and territories. Chemical weapons research centre in Damascus reduced to rubble by the US, British and French airforce strikes It looks at factors like crime rates, terrorist attacks, murder rates, weapon imports and exports, rates of people being incarcerated, corruption and the government functioning. The island’s crime rates are tiny, with just 1.8 murders per 100,000 people per year in a population of 300,000. Sun Online previously revealed exactly why Vienna is the most liveable city in the world.<doc-sep>
Perth has slipped seven places in a ranking of the world’s most liveable cities and is now placed behind three of Australia’s major centres. An annual Global Liveability Index, released by finance publication The Economist, lists Perth as the world’s 14th most liveable city, down from seventh last year. The city now ranks below Melbourne (second), Sydney (fifth) and Adelaide (10th). Sydney, which placed 11 last years due to terror attack fears, jumped six places in the report this year. The report ranks cities based on factors including their stability, including threat of terror attack or crime, healthcare, culture and environment, including temperature and food and drink, education and infrastructure. While Perth joins Auckland, Helsinki and Hamburg in dropping out of the top 10, the report said their scores had not fallen and their rankings had only dropped because they had been overtaken by other cities. Meanwhile, Melbourne, which has held the top spot for the seven-year history of the report, lost its title as the world’s most liveable city to Austrian capital Vienna. Camera Icon Vienna has been named the world’s most liveable city. Credit: www.viennaslide.com Melbourne received a score of 98.4 out of 100, while Vienna received a near-perfect 99.1. “Although both Melbourne and Vienna have registered improvements in liveability over the last six months, increases in Vienna’s ratings, particularly in the stability category, have been enough for the city to overtake Melbourne,” the report said. The war-torn city of Damascus in Syria ranked at the bottom of the list, alongside Dhaka in Bangladesh and Lagos in Nigeria. The 10 most liveable cities 1. Vienna, Austria 2. Melbourne, Australia 3. Osaka, Japan 4. Calgary, Canada 5. Sydney, Australia 6. Vancouver, Canada 7. Toronto, Canada 8. Tokyo, Japan 9. Copenhagen, Denmark 10. Adelaide, Australia The 10 least liveable cities 1. Dakar, Senegal 2. Algiers, Algeria 3. Douala, Cameroon 4. Tripoli, Libya 5. Harare, Zimbabwe 6. Port Moresby, PNG 7. Karachi, Pakistan 8. Lagos, Nigeria 9. Dhaka, Bangladesh 10. Damascus, Syria