Global liveability has improved for the first time in a decade

By THE DATA TEAM

THE past decade has been a tumultuous one. Civil wars, terrorist attacks and a financial meltdown have put pressure on the quality of life around the world. Small wonder then that the Economist Intelligence Unit, our corporate cousin, has found that most of the world’s cities have grown less liveable for expats and business travellers. Some 98 of the 140 cities surveyed have seen a drop in their “liveability” score since 2007. But the latest annual index, released on August 16th, shows a welcome (albeit marginal) increase in global liveability for the first time in ten years.