The Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability survey

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) publishes an annual Global Liveability Ranking, which ranks 140 cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Melbourne, Australia, has been ranked by the EIU as the world's most liveable city for six years in a row, from 2011 to 2016. Prior to 2011, Vancouver, Canada, was ranked the EIU's most liveable city from 2002 to 2010. ranked first since 2002. In 2011 the EIU stated that a highway closure on Vancouver Island (separated from Vancouver by the Strait of Georgia and not connected by bridge) resulted in the "small adjustment" to Vancouver's rating, suggesting a possible error in the rankings.

Cities from Australia, Canada and New Zealand typically dominate the top 10, reflecting their widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk, and an effective infrastructure. A 2010 opinion piece in The New York Times criticised the Economist Intelligence Unit for being overly anglocentric, stating that "The Economist clearly equates livability with speaking English."

The EIU also publishes a Worldwide Cost of Living Survey that compares the cost of living in a range of global cities.

The Syrian capital, Damascus, was ranked the least liveable city of the 140 assessed in 2016, reflecting the effects of ongoing conflict in that country.

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