The EIU's annual Global Liveability Ranking quantifies the challenges faced by an individual in 140 cities across the globe. The survey assesses 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five categories including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

(Read also: Seven Indonesian cities '€˜most livable'€™: Survey)

Cities in the US as well as Paris sharply declined in the rankings, the former due to unrest related to the deaths of black people at the hands of the police, and the latter due to the mounting number of terrorist attacks taking place in the city and in other parts of the country over the past three years, said the report.

The survey also reveals the ten least liveable cities in the world, with Damascus on top of the list, followed by Tripoli and Lagos; all due to instability from extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State movement that continue to spread across the Middle East and North Africa. (kha/kes)

The ten most liveable cities

1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, Canada

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Calgary, Canada

6. Adelaide, Australia

7. Perth, Australia

8. Auckland, New Zealand

9. Helsinki, Finland

10. Hamburg, Germany

The ten least liveable cities

1. Damascus, Syria

2. Tripoli, Libya

3. Lagos, Nigeria

4. Dhaka, Bangladesh

5. Port Moresby, PNG

6. Algiers, Algeria

7. Karachi, Pakistan

8. Harare, Zimbabwe

9. Duoala, Cameroon

10. Kiev, Ukraine