(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>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>Honolulu, Hawaii is the most liveable city in America, according to The Global Liveability Index 2018, an annual report by The Economist Intelligence Unit released August 14. Out of the 140 cities around the world that were included, it had the highest ranking of any U.S. metro, and is No. 23 globally. For its methodology, The EIU assessed which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability (looking at things like crime, conflict and terrorism), healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Honolulu scored 95.0 for stability; 91.7 for healthcare; 88.0 for culture and environment; 100.0 for education; and 85.7 for Infrastructure. The Hawaiian capital is the only U.S. city to make the top 25. The next U.S. city on the list is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ranked No. 32.<doc-sep>
Vienna is the most liveable city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2018 rankings. The Austrian capital topped the list for the first time, replacing Melbourne, Australia, which has been number one for the last seven years running. The annual report ranks 140 cities around the world based on their stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Vienna achieved an average score of 99.1 per cent across all criteria – 0.7 per cent higher than Melbourne – based on a perfect score for four of the five categories. According to the report: “Upwards movement in the top ranked cities is a reflection of improvements seen in stability and safety across most regions in the past year. “Whereas in the past, cities in Europe have been affected by the spreading perceived threat of terrorism in the region, which caused heightened security measures, the past six months have seen a return to normalcy.” However, only one other European city made the top 10 – Copenhagen in Denmark crept into ninth place. Australia and Canada did the best overall, with three cities apiece in the top 10. Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities Show all 10 1 /10 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 1: Seville, Spain 12019 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 2: Detroit, USA Vito Palmisano Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 3: Canberra, Australia Jason Tong Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 4: Hamburg, Germany Falco Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 5: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Getty Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 6: Antwerp, Belgium Getty Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 7: Matera, Italy Turkish414 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 8: San Juan, Puerto Rico Sam Valadi Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 9: Guanajuato, Mexico Bud Ellison Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 10: Oslo, Norway Corinna The cities that have improved the most in the last five years include Abidjan, Hanoi, Tehran and Belgrade; Kiev, San Juan, Damascus and Caracas, meanwhile, have all dropped the furthest in the rankings. The top 10 most liveable cities don’t include some of the world’s biggest metropolises – but this is for good reason, according to the report: “Global business centres tend to be victims of their own success. The ‘big city buzz’ that they enjoy can overstretch infrastructure and cause higher crime rates. “New York (57th), London (48th) and Paris (19th) are all prestigious hubs with a wealth of recreational activities, but all suffer from higher levels of crime, congestion and public transport problems than are deemed comfortable.” The cities that tend to score best are those that are mid-sized and based in wealthier countries. Several cities in the top 10 also have a relatively low population density, resulting in lower crime rates and a less overburdened infrastructure. 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 131. Dakar, Senegal 132. Algiers, Algeria 133. Douala, Cameroon 134. Tripoli, Libya 135. Harare, Zimbabwe 136. Port Moresby, PNG 137. Karachi, Pakistan 138. Lagos, Nigeria 139. Dhaka, Bangladesh 140. Damascus, Syria