Dubai one of the most improved places to live over the past five years, study finds

Melbourne is the world's most liveable city while Damascus is the worst.

People enjoy the Al Ittihad park on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai has become one of the most improved places to live over the past five years, according to an analysis by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Of the 140 cities that were evaluated, Dubai was the second most improved city in terms of liveability only behind Tehran.

Dubai’s overall liveability score was at 74.7 out of 100, an improvement of 4.6 per cent since 2011. In comparison the worst city to decline, Damascus, had a score of 30.2.

EIU assessed which locations around the world had the best or worst living conditions by looking at over 30 factors ranging from stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. The scores are compiled and weighted between 1 and 100 with 1 considered intolerable and 100 being ideal.

Despite ranking in the lower tiers, Middle Eastern cities have seen massive improvements as civil stability has recovered - such as in Tehran and Saudi Arabia’s Al Khobar. While Dubai ranks 74 out of 140, the EIU said that there were only six cities that had improved scores over the past year.

Half of the cities evaluated saw declines in liveability given global turmoil ranging from terrorism attacks to civil unrest and diplomatic tensions. In fact, the number of declines sharply rose by 36 per cent over the past six months with Damascus and Kiev leading the way at 26 and 25 percentage points respectively - highlighting conflict as a key factor in the quality of life.

The world’s most liveable city was Melbourne, Australia. Six of the 10 top scoring cities came from Australia and Canada.

“Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density,” said the EIU, adding that these areas provide a variety of recreational activities without leading to “high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure”.

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