Melbourne best place to live in unstable times

Melbourne has been ranked the best place to live in a world full of instability.

The latest Global Liveability Ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit highlights the Australian city as offering the best quality of life to its residents.

The annual report compares such factors as safety, healthcare, education, the environment and infrastructure in assessing the liveability of 140 cities from around the globe. The top of the table remains almost identical to the previous year's results, with Vienna in second place, followed by Vancouver and Toronto. Canada shares fifth spot with Australia, with Adelaide and Calgary both ranked equally.

Lower down the table, though, unrest around the world, from conflict in Ukraine to shootings in France and Tunisia, has seen the rankings Change and quality of life decline in multiple destinations.

Kiev has now fallen significantly in the past 12 months to become one of the 10 least liveable cities in the world, notes The Economist (publishers of the graph above).

"Since 2010 average liveability across the world has fallen by 1 per cent, led by a 2.2 per cent fall in the score for stability and safety. While this may seem marginal, it highlights that 57 of the cities surveyed have seen declines in liveability over the last five years," reads the report.