Swiss cities improve in global ‘liveability’ index

Geneva by night with the famous water fountain (archive picture) Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi

The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva are among the world’s best cities to live in, according to a prestigious survey.

Zurich moved up to 7^th position from 11^th position in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit ranking published on Tuesday, compared with a similar survey from 2019.

Geneva now ranks 8^th – up from 14^th position – alongside the Australian city of Melbourne.

Six of the top ten cities in the ranking are in New Zealand and Australia, while many European and Canadian cities have fallen down the bi-annual list.

The most liveable city is Auckland in New Zealand, ahead of Osaka (Japan) and Adelaide (Australia), according to The Economist.

The authors of the survey note that the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in lockdowns, restrictions of cultural and sports events, and closures of schools and restaurants, have had a considerable impact on this year’s liveability score.

The top-ranked cities were able to contain the pandemic faster and lift restrictions earlier than other places, the authors said.

Both Zurich and Geneva remained attractive locations despite social restrictions still being in place in March.

The data for the latest survey was collected in February and March this year covering 140 cities across five areas: stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment as well as infrastructure.