The report states that with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions diminished, the 2023 survey which was conducted between February 13 and March 12, 2023, shows a noticeable improvement across the world.
A report of the 2023 Global Livability Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, a subsidiary of The Economist, has shown that the war-torn Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine and Douala in Cameroon are more livable than Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos.
According to the report, Lagos is among the world’s bottom 10 worst cities to live in with 25.0 percent stability, 37.5 percent healthcare, 41.7 percent education and 53.6 percent infrastructure.
It ranks fourth on the list of the 10 worst cities to live in.
Meanwhile, while Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022, ranks 165, Lagos ranks 170, five positions behind.
Kyiv in war-torn Ukraine with 40.0 percent stability, 41.7 percent healthcare, 75.0 percent education and 23.2 percent infrastructure; while Douala in Cameroon ranks 164 with 60.0 percent stability.
The worst city on the list is Damascus, Syria which ranks 173.
The report states that with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions diminished, the 2023 survey which was conducted between February 13 and March 12, 2023, shows a noticeable improvement across the world.
It however says, “The average index score across all 172 cities (excluding Kyiv) in our survey has now reached 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 a year ago.
“This is the highest score in 15 years for the original comparable list of 140 cities. Healthcare scores have improved the most, with smaller gains for education, culture and environment, and infrastructure.
“Only stability has seen a small decline, reflecting increasing perceptions of corruption and civil unrest in many cities amid a cost-of-living crisis, as well as an uptick in crime in some cities.”
The report further states that further down the top 10, in the Swiss cities of Zurich which came 6th place and Geneva which came joint 7th place, education category scores have risen since 2022.
“In the Canadian cities of Vancouver (5th), Calgary (joint 7th) and Toronto (9th), scores for stability are up compared with last year, when these cities were impacted by anti-vaccine protests.
“The end of covid-related restrictions has given a small boost to the culture and environment ratings of the Japanese city of Osaka (10th).
“Even at the bottom of our rankings, cities such as Lagos (Nigeria) and Algiers (Algeria) have gained ground, with some improvements in their healthcare and education systems.
“Both are in countries that are energy exporters and have to some extent benefited from higher global oil and gas prices.
“Although corruption continues to be an issue, some additional public funding has been made available for infrastructure and public services, which have also benefited from the decline in covid cases.
“However, war-ravaged Damascus (Syria), the lowest-ranked city in our survey, has seen no improvement in its liveability scores despite the regional political comeback of its president, Bashar al-Assad.
“Contrary to these improvements, the war in Ukraine and the resulting economic and political disruption are affecting liveability in many European cities.
“Unsurprisingly, this is most noticeable in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which re-joins the survey this year (we were forced to exclude it following Russia’s invasion in 2022).
“However, the city’s score has fallen by 5.9 percentage points since 2021 owing to the damage the war has done to its stability, infrastructure and general liveability.
“It has now become one of the bottom ten cities in our liveability index.”
