(CNN) — Considering a big move this year? You may want to think about Canada or western Europe.
The Red Cross and European Union’s presences helped Geneva place highly on the list.
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Big winners
Switzerland was the only country in Europe to have two entries in the top 10, with Geneva in sixth position and Zurich landing in third.
However, the overall country winner was Canada. The Great White North had three of its cities represented — Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.
“Cities that were towards the top of our rankings before the pandemic have rebounded on the back of their stability, good infrastructure and services, as well as enjoyable leisure activities,” the index’s authors wrote.
Big droppers
Last year’s winner, New Zealand’s Auckland, fell out of the top 10 in 2022 to land at a surprising 34th place.
Neighboring Australia had the most noticeable drop in the rankings this year. Despite having topped the list in the past, Melbourne fell to 10th place in 2022.
Osaka was the only Asian city to land in the top 10 this year.
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Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, was in fourth place in 2021 but also dropped out of the top 10 this year.
Though Europe had a very good showing in 2022, there are two noticeable entries missing — London and Paris. Increased cost of living expenses played a role in both metropolises, as did the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
Ongoing global conflict was the number-one factor determining which countries ranked at the bottom of the list. Damascus, Lagos and Tripoli were rated the three least liveable cities in the world.
Meanwhile, Kyiv was not analyzed this year due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Liveability versus cost of living
Hong Kong had the dubious honor of coming in first place, with New York City, Geneva, London and Tokyo rounding out the top five.
The only city to appear on both the ECA and EIU indexes was Geneva.
The most expensive cities ranking was determined solely by economic factors — average rent, the price of gas and the like — as opposed to the EIU list, which looks at a city’s cultural attractions like museums and concerts as well as infrastructure like mass transit.
Vienna’s arts and culture scene helped it score high honors.
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2022’s Global Liveability Index: The top 10
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia (tie)