TORONTO NUMBER FOUR. VANCOUVER BEST

The Economist Intelligence Unit's livability also uses data from the Mercer consulting group and shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria, Finland and New Zealand as the ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The Economist Intelligence Unit has been criticized by the New York Times for being overly anglocentric, stating that "The Economist clearly equates livability with speaking English."^[12]

The report placed Vancouver, Canada as the most livable city in the world, withVienna taking second place followed by Melbourne. The survey said "In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism."^[13]

Three other Australian capital cities (Sydney at 7th and Perth and Adelaide at equal 8th) claimed positions in the top ten. OtherCanadian cities also ranked highly in the survey. In addition to Vancouver, the Canadian cities Toronto and Calgary were also placed within the top 10. In the 2010 results, the Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva slipped out of the top 10, replaced byAdelaide and Auckland, New Zealand.

Harare, Zimbabwe was rated the worst city in the world to call home. African and South Asian cities were generally the worst performing in the EIU's rankings. Pittsburgh is the highest rated US city.^[14]