Calgary top North American city for liveability

August 4, 2018
Export Life in Calgary In the Media
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The 2018 Global Liveability Index has been released by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Calgary has been named the 4th most livable city in the world.

Calgary climbed one position in the annual rankings of the world’s most livable city to fourth place and caps a decade in the Top 10 as the highest rated city in North America.

“This is a very big deal. We are ranked the best city to live in North America and fourth best in the world. Let’s shout that from the rooftops!” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

“We live in an amazing community that generations of Calgarians, public servants and private citizens alike, have built for us all to enjoy. “Calgary is an extraordinary place where people from around the world have come – and continue to come – to invest, to raise their families, and to build great lives. I’m very proud, and we all should be too!”

The Economist Intelligence Unit compiles its highly regarded rankings each year by assessing 30 factors across five categories – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure – for 140 cities worldwide.

Vienna, Austria, secured top spot as Melbourne, Australia, ended a seven-year run as the world’s most liveable city. Osaka, Japan, was third and Calgary moved up one place after being ranked fifth globally every year since 2009. Sydney, Australia is fifth this year followed by Vancouver and Toronto.

The rankings align with a broader vision of prosperity championed by Calgary Economic Development to include success for individuals, businesses and the overall community.

Calgary earned an overall score of 97.5 in the 1-100 scale this year and the highest grades possible for stability, healthcare, education and infrastructure. A year ago Calgary scored 96.6. In the scale used by The Economist, one is considered intolerable and 100 is ideal.

The Economist Intelligence Unit is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist magazine. In 2016, The Economist produced the podcast Liveable and Unliveable Cities to provide context for its rankings.

The widely respected rankings align with broader vision of prosperity championed by Calgary Economic Development to include success for individuals, businesses and the overall community and it reveals the city’s underlying strengths provide a solid foundation for the future.

The rankings are weighted with stability (25 per cent), healthcare (20 per cent), culture and environment (25 per cent), education (10 per cent) and infrastructure (20 per cent).

Global megacities tend to be graded lower due to issues such as crime and congestion.

“When we are recruiting companies and top talent to Calgary we make the point this is a great place to make a living and a great place to make a life and the ranking from The Economist reinforces that to a global audience,” said Steve Allan, Executive Chair of Calgary Economic Development. “To cap off the last decade of being in the Top 5 to now being the leading city in North America tells the world Calgary has a lot of offer and an exciting future.”

Download the 2018 Global Liveability Index summary report, here.

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