Harare ranked least liveable city

The Australian city of Melbourne was found to be the world’s most liveable town out of 140 cities surveyed, displacing Canada’s Vancouver which has topped the annual Global Liveability Survey since 2002.

With a score of just 38.2 per cent, Harare anchored the rankings for the fourth year running.

Living standards in Harare have deteriorated during the past decade, marked by poor service delivery, transport chaos and the burden of overpopulation.

Cities were scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.

The survey said general conditions required for a location to be awarded a high liveability ranking continued to be reflected in Australian and Canadian cities while European cities have been affected by the current crisis in the euro zone.