The world's 10 least liveable cities in 2025
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its latest Global Liveability Index, evaluating 173 cities on five critical categories: stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education, and infrastructure.
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As per the said report, this year's average score remains unchanged from last year, at 76.1 out of 100.
These rankings offer a global snapshot of how livable, or not, urban life is across the world.
While the top cities often remain familiar, such as Vienna, Copenhagen, Zurich, the bottom of the list reflects regions gripped by war, political instability, economic collapse, or decaying infrastructure. The 2025 report shows a worrying trend: while healthcare and infrastructure saw some improvements globally, stability scores declined, thanks to ongoing conflicts and civil unrest.
Here are the 10 least liveable cities in the world in 2025, based on the EIU's Global Liveability Index.
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Damascus, Syria — Score: 30.7/100
Holding its position at the very bottom, Syria's capital remains a city caught in the long shadow of civil war. Decimated infrastructure, limited healthcare, ongoing violence, and humanitarian crises make daily life perilous.
Tripoli, Libya — Score: 40.1/100
Tripoli continues to suffer from lawlessness, rival militia control, and failing governance.
Services are patchy at best, and instability keeps any sense of normalcy out of reach.
Dhaka, Bangladesh — Score: 41.7/100
Overcrowded and choking on its own rapid expansion, Dhaka was down three places following the political upheaval in the country in 2024. Also, in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, and environmental quality, it hasn't fared well.
Karachi, Pakistan — Score: 42.7/100
Pakistan's largest city has been facing persistent challenges in terms of infrastructure quality, urban governance, and public safety.
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Public healthcare and transportation remain critically under-resourced.
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Algiers, Algeria — Score: 42.8/100
Algiers struggles with economic stagnation, poor infrastructure, and limited political freedoms. It scores particularly low on cultural vibrancy and environmental health.
Lagos, Nigeria — Score: 43.5/100
Africa's most populous city faces major challenges: extreme traffic congestion, pollution, safety issues, and a strained healthcare system. Despite its commercial vibrance, quality of life is low.
Harare, Zimbabwe — Score: 43.8/100
Economic instability, hyperinflation, and poor service delivery continue to plague Harare. Power shortages and water scarcity are routine, and healthcare access is minimal.
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Score: 44.1/100
With high crime rates, weak infrastructure, and limited medical facilities, Port Moresby remains one of the least liveable cities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kyiv, Ukraine — Score: 44.5/100
This list also includes Kyiv. Notwithstanding the city's solid cultural and educational underpinnings, the main contributing reason is the enormous risk to civilian life posed by continuous shelling and enduring security threats, which have a detrimental effect on general stability.
Caracas, Venezuela — Score: 44.9/100
In a country plagued by some of the highest homicide rates globally, it's no surprise that its capital struggles with liveability. Caracas records a low stability score of 35 and just 37.5 in healthcare, resulting in an overall livability score of 44.9.
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Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
The world's 10 least liveable cities in 2025
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its latest Global Liveability Index, evaluating 173 cities on five critical categories: stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education, and infrastructure. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As per the said report, this year's average score remains unchanged from last year, at 76.1 out of 100. These rankings offer a global snapshot of how livable, or not, urban life is across the world. While the top cities often remain familiar, such as Vienna, Copenhagen, Zurich, the bottom of the list reflects regions gripped by war, political instability, economic collapse, or decaying infrastructure. The 2025 report shows a worrying trend: while healthcare and infrastructure saw some improvements globally, stability scores declined, thanks to ongoing conflicts and civil unrest. Here are the 10 least liveable cities in the world in 2025, based on the EIU's Global Liveability Index. Read more: Damascus, Syria — Score: 30.7/100 Holding its position at the very bottom, Syria's capital remains a city caught in the long shadow of civil war. Decimated infrastructure, limited healthcare, ongoing violence, and humanitarian crises make daily life perilous. Tripoli, Libya — Score: 40.1/100 Tripoli continues to suffer from lawlessness, rival militia control, and failing governance. Services are patchy at best, and instability keeps any sense of normalcy out of reach. Dhaka, Bangladesh — Score: 41.7/100 Overcrowded and choking on its own rapid expansion, Dhaka was down three places following the political upheaval in the country in 2024. Also, in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, and environmental quality, it hasn't fared well. Karachi, Pakistan — Score: 42.7/100 Pakistan's largest city has been facing persistent challenges in terms of infrastructure quality, urban governance, and public safety. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Public healthcare and transportation remain critically under-resourced. Read more: Algiers, Algeria — Score: 42.8/100 Algiers struggles with economic stagnation, poor infrastructure, and limited political freedoms. It scores particularly low on cultural vibrancy and environmental health. Lagos, Nigeria — Score: 43.5/100 Africa's most populous city faces major challenges: extreme traffic congestion, pollution, safety issues, and a strained healthcare system. Despite its commercial vibrance, quality of life is low. Harare, Zimbabwe — Score: 43.8/100 Economic instability, hyperinflation, and poor service delivery continue to plague Harare. Power shortages and water scarcity are routine, and healthcare access is minimal. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Score: 44.1/100 With high crime rates, weak infrastructure, and limited medical facilities, Port Moresby remains one of the least liveable cities in the Asia-Pacific region. Kyiv, Ukraine — Score: 44.5/100 This list also includes Kyiv. Notwithstanding the city's solid cultural and educational underpinnings, the main contributing reason is the enormous risk to civilian life posed by continuous shelling and enduring security threats, which have a detrimental effect on general stability. Caracas, Venezuela — Score: 44.9/100 In a country plagued by some of the highest homicide rates globally, it's no surprise that its capital struggles with liveability. Caracas records a low stability score of 35 and just 37.5 in healthcare, resulting in an overall livability score of 44.9.
NDTV
17-06-2025
- NDTV
World's 'Most Livable Cities' Now Face Security Risks
Copenhagen rose to first place in a global livability ranking, after security concerns nudged down other cities in Western Europe. Austria's capital, Vienna, lost its top spot as the world's most livable city due to recent terrorism scares, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2025 Global Livability Index. A bomb threat ahead of Taylor Swift concerts in 2024 and the uncovering of a planned attack on a city train station earlier this year caused a sharp drop in the city's stability score, the report said. Copenhagen had the same score as last year, but has been largely untouched by the unrest affecting its regional peers, scoring the maximum points for stability, along with top marks in education and infrastructure. The Economist's annual ranking is just one narrow way of defining "livability," and has been criticized for omitting environmental health factors. Such rankings also reduce cities down to data points that obscure individual preferences - and demographic differences in how people experience a place. In Copenhagen's home country of Denmark, for example, the government has enacted a law that designates neighborhoods with more than 50% non-western residents as "ghettos" that can be subject to demolition; the law was recently deemed discriminatory by an advisor to EU's top court. Still, the rankings can be effective at pointing to trends. Western Europe's average score for stability declined from last year as the region grappled with a rise in terrorism threats, riots, crime and anti-Semitic attacks, and the region accounted for six of the ten biggest fallers in the ranking. These included the UK cities of London, Manchester and Edinburgh following violent far-right protests in 2024. Canadian cities Calgary and Toronto were also among the biggest decliners, as strains in the country's national health service took a toll. Vancouver is now the only Canadian city remaining in the top ten. Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia recorded the biggest improvement, climbing to 135th place, driven by the kingdom's investments in expanding access to health care and education. At the other end of the scale, Damascus in Syria remains in the last place. Its livability score was unchanged due to ongoing instability and poor health care, despite a regime change in 2024. The EIU ranks 173 cities based on five categories: stability, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, and health care.
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Indian Express
Opinion A lesson for South Korea: Impeachment hasn't deepened democracy
Han Duck-soo, the interim president of South Korea, resigned on May 2, citing his desire to prepare for a more significant role. Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister and next in line to become interim president of South Korea, also resigned. The political crisis that erupted after Yoon Suk yeol was impeached at the beginning of this year is clearly yet to be resolved. Yoon Suk yeol was the second South Korean president to be impeached, following Park Geun-hye. Yoon's impeachment is viewed as a democratic triumph for the country. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a branch of the Economist Group which creates the Democracy Index, ranks South Korea 16th out of 167 countries. South Korea's democracy with its frequent changes in government, free and fair elections, and citizen participation are acknowledged across the world. But the current crisis has tarnished that reputation. Accusing the opposition of having North Korean sympathies, Yoon implemented martial law with ease, underscoring the dangers of excessive securitisation and the deterioration of democratic standards. Moon Jae-in's previous administration, too, was widely criticised for sabotaging institutions and abusing power. This democratic regression can be attributed to a number of reasons. First, securitisation, which is the process of taking an issue that is not a security threat and framing it as an existential danger, has been used to support a variety of undemocratic practices, including citizen surveillance and limitations on free expression. This pattern began underSyngman Rhee's administration, when authoritarian practices were justified by framing North Korea as a danger. Every president since has employed the 1948 National Security Law to quell opposition, even though it violates South Korea's international human rights commitments. Second, the concentration of executive authority in South Korea also encourages democratic backsliding. While the National Assembly and other independent entities have little ability to monitor the presidency, the South Korean president has considerable authority over intelligence services, the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, and the bureaucracy. The system of checks and balances is weakened by the executive's centralisation of powers Then there is the weak party system. Despite South Korea's claims to be a multiparty democracy, its political landscape is dominated by two major parties. Others who hold different opinions find it more difficult to be represented as a result. As a result, the political system in South Korea cannot accurately represent people with varied views, and because of its limited intellectual scope, some political ideas are excluded from the conversation. In December 2014, the South Korean government banned the Unified Progressive Party, because it had questioned the government's election practices, but under the pretext of supporting North Korea. There are also significant limitations on the nation's media environment. According to the Press Freedom Index, South Korea is ranked 42nd, and since 2011, the press has been regarded only as partially free. Critics claim that a 'fake news bill' that was approved by the government in 2021 was intended to stifle independent journalism. Additionally, the independence of the judiciary has also been under pressure. Therefore, instead of viewing Yoon's impeachment as a win, academics and decision-makers ought to concentrate on diversifying South Korean politics. Preventing future political crises requires addressing the nation's democratic shortcomings and reforming national laws. In the absence of such changes, more and more people would start viewing martial law as a necessary step towards political stability.
