Karachi ranked fourth worst livable city in new index

Karachi was declared the fourth worst city to live in, according to The Livability Index 2025, published by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) a sister arm of The Economist, on Tuesday.

Karachi - the only entry from Pakistan - was ranked 170 out of 173 countries, coming up ahead of Dhaka, Tripoli and Damascus.

EIU’s liveability index ranks cities based on more than 30 indicators across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Copenhagen topped the index followed by Vienna, Zurich, Melbourne and Geneva. Last year’s winner, Vienna, lost its place because two foiled terrorist attacks - on a Taylor Swift concert and on a train station - that brought down its stability score.

Karachi ranked fifth worst livable city in new index

Europe and North America

London and New York were in 54th and 69th place respectively. Crime levels and the threat of terrorism are high in those cities, while their roads are also congested. Tokyo, the world’s largest city, came in13th place.

All the cities covered in the United Kingdom (London, Manchester and Edinburgh) have dropped down the ranks, following widespread riots and rising homelessness.

Two Canadian cities (Calgary, Toronto) are also among them, due to lower healthcare scores for all four Canadian cities in the index.

Middle East and Africa

This region registered the most significant gains in overall liveability, primarily driven by advancements in healthcare and education within cities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Damascus remains at the bottom of the ranking (but the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December and America’s subsequent decision to lift economic sanctions on Syria bode well for the capital in the next edition of the ranking), the report added.

Most South Asian cities did not fare well due to pollution and rising temperatures. Military confrontation on the Kashmir border was one factor that reduced stability scores for the five Indian cities in the index, added the report.

Karachi ranked fourth least-expensive city to live in: EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey

The report concluded that while high inflation was noted to be decreasing, geopolitical tensions were increasing, threatening stability and quality of life everywhere.