Auckland 10th most liveable city - again

Re-launch photo competition. Sunrise over Auckland City, photographed from Mt Eden. 22 August 2012 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Natalie Slade NZH 16Jan13 - NZH 28Mar13 - NZH 13Jun13 -

Auckland has again been ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its report on 140 cities, and for the fifth year in a row Auckland rounded out the top 10.

Melbourne was found to be the planet's most liveable city, with Vienna and Vancouver taking the second and third positions respectively.

Wellington was the only other New Zealand city to be ranked, and was in 22nd place.
The report said the cities that scored best "tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density."

New Zealand has a density of 16 people per square kilometre, half of the United States average, the EIU said.

The report compared stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure to reach an overall score.

Auckland scored 95.7 overall, fewer than two points behind Melbourne, which scored 97.5.

Auckland scored a perfect 100 for education, but trailed the top 10 for healthcare with 95.7 points.

The city scored the second highest in the top 10 for culture and environment with 97 points, but scored only 92.9 for infrastructure.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown said Aucklanders should be proud.

"Aucklanders should rightly be proud that for the fifth year in a row we have been ranked a top 10 world city.

"However the number 10 ranking should remind us that we still have many challenges, not least of all starting work on essential infrastructure such as the City Rail Link, as we strive to become the world's most liveable city."

Top Ten
1. Melbourne, Australia
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Vancouver, Canada
4. Toronto, Canada
5. Adelaide, Australia
6. Calgary, Canada
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Helsinki, Finland
9. Perth, Australia
10. Auckland, New Zealand

Bottom Ten
131. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
132. Tripoli, Libya
133. Douala, Cameroon
134. Harare, Zimbabwe
135. Algiers, Algeria
136. Karachi, Pakistan
137. Lagos, Nigeria
138. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
139. Dhaka, Bangladesh
140. Damascus, Syria