Karachi ranks 170th in EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2026

KARACHI: Karachi has been placed among the world’s least liveable cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index 2026, ranking 170th out of 173 cities assessed in the annual survey.

According to the EIU, only Dhaka, Tripoli and Damascus were ranked below Karachi. The index also showed Tehran, placed 164th, and Kyiv, at 166th, scoring slightly better than Karachi despite both facing the impact of conflict. Large cities are often affected in the rankings by factors such as traffic congestion and crime.

The EIU index examines living conditions in 173 cities and is widely used as a global measure of urban liveability and resilience. It evaluates locations across stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, with the aim of assessing the challenges affecting an individual’s lifestyle in a given city.

Karachi received an overall score of 43 out of 100, the same as Algiers. Its category-wise scores were 20 for stability, 54 for healthcare, 36 for culture and environment, 75 for education, and 52 for infrastructure. Among these, education was the city’s strongest-performing area, while the remaining indicators reflected weaker results.

Regional changes in rankings

The index also recorded declines for several cities in the Middle East following the US-Iran war. Urban centres including Muscat, Kuwait City, Doha and Manama moved down by several places in the latest rankings.

After a series of Iranian drone strikes, Muscat registered the sharpest fall, dropping 14 places to 123rd. Doha went down seven spots to 108th, while Dubai and Abu Dhabi each slipped four positions to 79th and 76th, respectively.

Top-ranked cities

At the top of the 2026 rankings, Copenhagen retained first place, followed by Vienna and Melbourne. Vancouver, ranked ninth, was the only North American city in the top 10, while Tokyo, in 10th place, was the only megacity to feature in that group.