Sara Fletcher

Slideshows

Why Do Australia and Canada Have the Most Livable Cities?

The Economist Intelligence Units list of the 10 most livable cities is dominated by Australian and Canadian cities. What's their secret?

Last week, the Economist Intelligence Unit released the list of the world's 10 most livable cities in its Global Livability Report. A city's rating "quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle" and is based on scores for more than 30 factors within five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Scores for each of the factors are compiled and boiled down to one score between 1 (untolerable) and 100 (ideal). The list, led for the fifth year by 2010 Winter Olympics host Vancouver, is dominated by Canadian and Australian cities. Click through for the winners. (You can also contrast the 10 most livable with the 10 least livable cities here.)

1. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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