The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in city rankings regarding quality of life, as European cities saw a decline in their rankings, while Australian, Japanese, and New Zealand cities rose to the top due to their swift measures to contain the virus, according to a study. Auckland, New Zealand topped the 2021 edition released on Wednesday of the annual study conducted by "The Economist" magazine on cities with a high quality of life, followed by Osaka, Japan, then Adelaide (Australia), Tokyo, and Wellington (New Zealand).
The accompanying statement explained that Auckland "advanced to first place due to its successful approach to containing the pandemic, which allowed the community to remain open and enabled the city to perform better in terms of education, culture, and the environment."
In contrast, European cities performed poorly in this year's edition, as Vienna, which was ranked the best city to live in between 2018 and 2020, dropped to twelfth place, while Hamburg, Germany fell 34 places to the 47th rank. The study pointed to "the pressure on hospital resources in most German and French cities, and the restrictions on movement and gatherings that limited cultural activities."
Honolulu in Hawaii (USA) saw the largest improvement, securing the 14th position in the ranking, an increase of 46 places, "thanks to significant progress in managing the pandemic and the implementation of a vaccination program." Damascus remains the most difficult city to live in due to the ongoing war.
