Singapore gains liveable points

SINGAPORE For the first time Singapore overhauled Hong Kong in the Economist Intelligence Unit 2017 Global Liveability Ranking released Wednesday.

Singapore jumped 11 places to 35th in the annual survey that assigns scores for 140 cities based on 30 criteria covering stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Hong Kong slipped two places to 45th.

Among ASEAN nations, Kuala Lumpur had the second highest placing after Singapore at 70^th ahead of Brunei’s Bandar Seri Begawan ranked 100^th and Bangkok placed 102^nd.

Other scores on the liveability index from ASEAN were:  Manila (104); Jakarta (118); Hanoi (119); Ho Chi Minh City (122) and Phnom Penh (123).

Rankings for mainland Chinese cities were in the 72 to 97 band, well behind Japan’s  Tokyo and Osaka (13 and 14) and South Korea’s Seoul (58) and Taiwan’s Taipei (60).

Melbourne, Australia, topped the global list for the seventh year running, followed by Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. At the other end of the scale, Damascus, Syria, occupied the last 140th slot.

The EIU claimed increasing instability across the world, such as the threat of terrorism in Europe, caused volatility in the scores of many cities.

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