The most favorable cities for living. Which region of Russia to choose for moving. Best city in terms of accessibility
The Russian Federation is a country with a huge area, on the territory of which there are more than 1000 cities and towns.
Many Russians and foreign citizens are interested in the standard of living in Russia, in which city it is the highest. The answer can be found in the results of research conducted by an organization called the Center for Strategic Research, which belongs to the Russian State Insurance Company.
Sociological studies and surveys of Russians living in various cities of the Russian Federation have shown which regions are most in demand among Russian residents, and which are in less demand for living.
To understand which region is better to live in, employees of the Center for Strategic Studies asked residents of each of the regions and cities presented below about how satisfied they were with the level and quality of life in them.
| City name | The share of people surveyed who confirmed that their city is the most acceptable and convenient for living in the regions of Russia (in%) |
| Kazan | 97 |
| Tyumen | 96 |
| Naberezhnye Chelny | 95 |
| Grozny | 92 |
| Tomsk | 91 |
| Orenburg | 91 |
| Saint Petersburg | 90 |
| Penza | 90 |
| Voronezh | 89 |
| Kemerovo | 89 |
| Yaroslavl | 87 |
| Barnaul | 87 |
| Krasnodar | 87 |
| Ryazan | 86 |
| Novosibirsk | 86 |
| Ufa | 86 |
| Ekaterinburg | 85 |
| Irkutsk | 85 |
| Sevastopol | 85 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 83 |
| 83 | |
| Izhevsk | 81 |
| Khabarovsk | 81 |
| Samara | 81 |
| Permian | 80 |
| Lipetsk | 80 |
| Rostov-on-Don | 80 |
| Ulyanovsk | 77 |
| Vladivostok | 75 |
| Novokuznetsk | 71 |
| Krasnoyarsk | 70 |
| Astrakhan | 68 |
| Makhachkala | 68 |
| Saratov | 66 |
| Chelyabinsk | 64 |
| Tolyatti | 62 |
| Omsk | 62 |
| Volgograd | 60 |
The table displays the general standard of living and satisfaction of Russian citizens with their regions and cities. 
But in addition to such a survey, the research center conducted social surveys on whether Russians were satisfied with the quality of the urban environment. The surveys were conducted according to the following selected criteria:
- Department of Housing and Utilities.
- Cultural level of the city.
- Medical service.
- Educational sphere.
- Transport.
- Level of corruption.
Department of Housing and Utilities
When studying the situation with housing and communal services, many Russian citizens had to answer the question, are they satisfied with the quality of service of housing and communal services and housing prices?
Residents of Grozny, Ufa, Vladivostok, Astrakhan and Volgograd are least satisfied with housing and communal services.
Cultural level
- Kazan;
- Grozny;
- Ekaterinburg;
- Novosibirsk;
- Rostov-on-Don;
- Saint Petersburg;
- Krasnodar;
- Penza;
- Moscow;
- Khabarovsk.
Medical service
List of cities with the highest level of medical care:
- Grozny;
- Tyumen;
- Kazan;
- Barnaul;
- Naberezhnye Chelny;
- Orenburg;
- Penza;
- Saint Petersburg;
- Ulyanovsk;
- Krasnodar.
Educational field
| Share of residents satisfied with the educational sector Russian Federation in your city (% of the total number of respondents) | |
| Tomsk | 96 |
| Novosibirsk | 93 |
| Saratov | 88 |
| Tyumen | 92 |
| Kazan | 91 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 90 |
| Ekaterinburg | 88 |
| Vladivostok | 87 |
| Saint Petersburg | 87 |
| Chelyabinsk | 86 |
Corruption
List of cities and regions with the highest corruption rates:
Transport sector
List of regions with the most developed transport systems:
- Grozny;
- Tyumen;
- Kazan;
- Moscow;
- Saint Petersburg;
- Tolyatti;
- Izhevsk;
- Novokuznetsk;
- Tomsk;
- Penza.
Wage
Many will agree that statistics on the standard of living of the population largely depend on the average salary of a person. According to statistics, people in Russia receive the highest wages in the following districts and cities:
- The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug ranks first in the Russian Federation in the top 10 regions with the highest salaries. According to statistical data, in the territory of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug the average salary is 71,000 rubles. The economy of this district is built on the mining industry.
- Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The average salary, according to statistics, is 69,000 rubles per month. Such high wages are due to gas and oil production in this district.
- Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The average salary in this district is 68,000 rubles. Mostly most of workers of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are involved in the forestry, food and fishing industries.
- The Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug has an average monthly salary of 67,000 rubles. The fact that this region ranks 4th in the top is not at all surprising. According to statistics, more than 60% of the total oil production in Russia is produced in this region.
- Magadan Region. In this area, there is an annual increase in average monthly wages. In 2017, residents of the Magadan region earned an average of 66,000 rubles. This level of payment is determined by the main field of activity of the Magadan region and high labor productivity. It's no secret that this area produces large quantities of gold. But in addition to the extraction of this precious metal, the region makes good money from the fishing industry.
- The Tyumen region has taken one of the leading positions in the top thanks to its developed real estate market. In the Tyumen region, realtors and truck drivers are in great demand. On average, residents of this region earn 65,000 rubles.
- Moscow. The capital of the Russian Federation is known not only for its developed infrastructure and multi-million population, but also for its very high wage levels. In the capital, on average they receive 60,000 rubles.
- Sakhalin region. The lowest salary on Sakhalin is 16,000 rubles. But less than 20% of the population receives such a salary. On average, residents of the Sakhalin region earn 59,000 rubles monthly.
- The Kamchatka region is known for its very developed fishing industry. The financial and mining industries are also well developed in this region. The average salary, according to statistics, is 54,000 rubles per month per person.
- Yakutia (officially: Sakha Republic) is able to provide an average salary of 54,000 rubles to people living and working in this area.
You can also check out on our website,
The decline in GDP was influenced by the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine
The first reason for the low standard of living in Russia is the decline in GDP. This is one of the main indicators of the level of quality of life and the market value of all final goods and services.
Dynamics of changes in the level of gross domestic product of the Russian Federation over the past 20 years
| Year | GDP indicator (in US dollars per capita) |
| 1998 | 2739 |
| 1999 | 1837 |
| 2000 | 1333 |
| 2001 | 1775 |
| 2002 | 2100 |
| 2003 | 2380 |
| 2004 | 2980 |
| 2005 | 4100 |
| 2006 | 5353 |
| 2007 | 6930 |
| 2008 | 9100 |
| 2009 | 11 635 |
| 2010 | 8561 |
| 2011 | 10 670 |
| 2012 | 13 320 |
| 2013 | 14 070 |
| 2014 | 14 480 |
| 2015 | 12 717 |
| 2016 | 8447 |
| 2017 | 8664 |
Based on the data in the table, we can note a sharp drop in the standard of living in Russia and its GDP. Many political scientists argue that the sharp decline in GDP was influenced by the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Let us recall that in 2014 the Crimean Peninsula seceded, after which the Ukrainian authorities officially announced the presence of Russian military personnel on Ukrainian territory.
This statement served as the basis for the introduction of sanctions against Russia by the European Union. Due to many sanctions, Russia was unable to fully carry out trade turnover; product exports decreased significantly, which resulted in a decline in the level of gross domestic product.
According to statistics, Russia ranks 10th in the world in terms of GDP.
It's no secret that the level of GDP is affected by production volumes, and the country has very low labor productivity. This is the second reason for the low standard of living in Russia.
Low labor productivity was a consequence of worn-out infrastructure and old production equipment.
The third, but not least important reason for the decline in the quality of life of citizens of the Russian Federation is corruption, which flourishes in almost every city in the country.
Where is it good to live in Rus'? The answer to this question is given by rating of Russian cities by quality of life 2017. The list was compiled by the Center for Strategic Research of the Rosgosstrakh company, which conducted a study of large cities of the Russian Federation from the point of view of the benefit of the ordinary citizen.
At the same time, several criteria were taken into account, from the state of housing and communal services and the quality of medical care to the work of traffic police officers and the alleged level of corruption of city authorities.
Read the updated year on living standards.
Table of urban environment quality indicators 2017
The share of surveyed respondents who agree that their city is convenient for living.| # | City | Housing and communal services | Cult. | Medical | Image. | Transport | Power | Corrupt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89% | 93% | 47% | 91% | 83% | 78% | 19% | |
| 2 | 97% | 80% | 58% | 92% | 94% | 79% | 12% | |
| 3 | 88% | 55% | 42% | 67% | 70% | 64% | 21% | |
| 4 | 79% | 92% | 63% | 82% | 98% | 96% | 19% | |
| 5 | Orenburg | 90% | 80% | 44% | 74% | 36% | 40% | 29% |
| 5 | 86% | 81% | 34% | 96% | 48% | 48% | 19% | |
| 6 | Penza | 96% | 89% | 37% | 74% | 50% | 51% | 22% |
| 6 | 92% | 90% | 43% | 87% | 68% | 46% | 24% | |
| 7 | Voronezh | 92% | 83% | 25% | 80% | 52% | 57% | 41% |
| 7 | 90% | 82% | 31% | 71% | 77% | 70% | 20% | |
| 8 | Barnaul | 93% | 80% | 42% | 86% | 31% | 39% | 26% |
| 8 | 98% | 88% | 44% | 79% | 71% | 51% | 37% | |
| 8 | Yaroslavl | 88% | 80% | 31% | 85% | 17% | 27% | 17% |
| 9 | 97% | 91% | 37% | 93% | 59% | 50% | 11% | |
| 9 | Ryazan | 95% | 73% | 34% | 85% | 36% | 39% | 29% |
| 9 | Ufa | 74% | 83% | 37% | 79% | 44% | 51% | 32% |
| 10 | 89% | 93% | 28% | 88% | 45% | 52% | 14% | |
| 10 | Irkutsk | 88% | 78% | 32% | 76% | 39% | 43% | 11% |
| 10 | Sevastopol | 83% | 78% | 18% | 69% | 27% | 30% | 10% |
| 11 | Moscow | 83% | 83% | 42% | 79% | 73% | 61% | 24% |
| 11 | Nizhny Novgorod | 82% | 76% | 38% | 90% | 33% | 35% | 25% |
| 12 | Izhevsk | 89% | 79% | 32% | 81% | 51% | 47% | 15% |
| 12 | Samara | 81% | 72% | 30% | 80% | 38% | 52% | 39% |
| 12 | Khabarovsk | 83% | 81% | 34% | 80% | 49% | 53% | 13% |
| 13 | Lipetsk | 97% | 60% | 31% | 65% | 47% | 44% | 20% |
| 13 | Permian | 85% | 73% | 31% | 85% | 41% | 33% | 14% |
| 13 | Rostov-on-Don | 88% | 82% | 37% | 77% | 45% | 36% | 48% |
| 14 | Ulyanovsk | 93% | 70% | 40% | 83% | 40% | 47% | 19% |
| 15 | Vladivostok | 64% | 76% | 26% | 87% | 26% | 34% | 27% |
| 16 | Novokuznetsk | 83% | 73% | 36% | 68% | 50% | 57% | 18% |
| 17 | Krasnoyarsk | 95% | 85% | 39% | 88% | 45% | 42% | 33% |
| 18 | Astrakhan | 76% | 75% | 28% | 74% | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| 19 | Makhachkala | 96% | 69% | 27% | 59% | 28% | 20% | 66% |
| 20 | Saratov | 88% | 82% | 34% | 88% | 23% | 23% | 29% |
| 21 | Chelyabinsk | 92% | 78% | 33% | 86% | 40% | 22% | 30% |
| 22 | Tolyatti | 85% | 50% | 35% | 52% | 57% | 24% | 35% |
| 23 | Omsk | 85% | 78% | 36% | 81% | 38% | 24% | 25% |
| 24 | Volgograd | 78% | 52% | 27% | 76% | 31% | 36% | 39% |
10. Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk
The list of the best cities to live in Russia opens with two Siberian capitals - Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk, 85% of whose population are satisfied with their place of residence. Ekaterinburg residents believe that their city is more than sufficiently provided with cultural institutions - the city is a leader in this rating indicator.
But residents of Irkutsk are confident that the authorities of their city are the least corrupt of all. Only 11% believe in the corruption of municipal structures.
9. Novosibirsk, Ufa
In ninth position are the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the city of Novosibirsk. 86% of residents believe that these cities are generally comfortable to live in. Although Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia, Novosibirsk residents believe that it is sufficiently provided with housing (97%), but Ufa residents already estimate the pace of urban construction much lower (74%).
8. Yaroslavl, Barnaul, Krasnodar
Eighth place was shared by the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl, the administrative center Altai Territory Barnaul and southern Krasnodar. Despite the difference in climate, 87% of Russians consider these cities comfortable to live in. Krasnodar leads the ranking in terms of housing construction volume - the number of residents who believe that the city has enough housing for everyone reaches 98%. But residents of Yaroslavl are not at all happy with the condition of their homes and the level of work of housing and communal services - only 47% and 31%, respectively, rate them well. This is one of the lowest indicators in the ranking.
7. Voronezh, Kemerovo
Residents of Voronezh and Kemerovo are equally satisfied with life in their cities - 89% of respondents think that living in them is not bad at all. However, in terms of the level of amenities, Kemerovo is clearly ahead of its neighbor - 90% of Kemerovo residents rate it highly, while only 70% of Voronezh residents consider their city convenient for living. But as for
quality of medical care, then city residents, along with Sevastopol and Vladivostok residents, are least satisfied with it.
6. St. Petersburg, Penza
In sixth place are two such different cities as the “northern capital” and the regional center of Penza, whose residents equally assess their standard of living in them – 90% are generally satisfied with them. Both the condition of their homes and the level of improvement of the city among Penza residents received approximately the same assessment - 73% and 72% believe that everything is not bad. But St. Petersburg residents believe that the housing stock needs to be improved (65% are satisfied with it); the level of improvement of the city, in their opinion, is quite high (82%), but the work of public utilities lags behind - only 51% of those surveyed are satisfied with them. Wherein northern capital is one of the “second” cities in the world that deserve attention.
5. Orenburg, Tomsk
Fifth place in the ranking is shared by two cities - Orenburg and Tomsk, 91% of the local population is satisfied with their place of residence. Tomsk residents believe that they can get the best education in their city - 96% of residents are proud of the work of their universities; this is the highest figure among other cities. At the same time, only 9% of residents believe that the city has a sufficient number educational institutions. Residents suffer most from the lack of sports schools and sections, as well as preschool institutions. More than a third of those surveyed (34%) are not happy about their absence.
With my life in the capital Chechen Republic 92% of the population are satisfied. Grozny residents rate the condition of their homes higher than residents of other cities (79%), are proud of the level of amenities in Grozny (97%) and the condition of roads (98%). But the work of traffic police officers, according to the city population, is generally beyond praise - 95% believe that they perform their duties perfectly. But Grozny residents especially stand out based on the indicator, which is very low among the cities participating in the rating - as many as 65% of residents believe that they can influence the city government. For comparison: only 42% of residents of Tyumen, a city that follows Grozny in this indicator, believe in such a possibility.
The only region of the Russian Federation from which two cities were included in the top 10 ranking of Russian cities in terms of living standards in 2017 is the Republic of Tatarstan. Naberezhnye Chelny received a place in the ranking largely due to residents’ high assessment of the work of housing and communal services - 72% of those surveyed are satisfied with it. This is the highest figure among the cities participating in the ranking. Chelny residents are also satisfied with the condition of their homes (76%), as well as the level of improvement of the city (90%), and the overall level of satisfaction is 95%.
Tyumen residents consider their city to be extremely favorable for life - Tyumen now ranks second in the 2017 ranking of the best cities in Russia to live in, with a population satisfaction rate of 96%. Tyumen residents rate the condition of the roads in the city especially highly (94% believe they are good), financial investments local authorities on the improvement of the city (79% of residents are satisfied with them), and the level of improvement of the city is considered very high by 93% of respondents.
And in 2017, Kazan became the winner in the ranking of Russian cities in terms of quality of life, displacing the country’s permanent leader for several years – Tyumen. Residents of the capital of Tatarstan are extremely satisfied with the amenities of their ancient city, and compared to 2015, this figure even increased by 2% and reached 97%. Residents are pleased with the level of amenities of the city (92%), the number and level of work of cultural institutions (according to this indicator, Kazan is second only to Yekaterinburg) and the level of education (91%). The republic does not lag behind its capital and also entered the.
When choosing a locality for further residence, we advise you to look at the rating of Russian cities in 2020 and the rating of the best cities in Russia for living in 2020.
Photos:
Krasnodar 
by level 
square 
city 
Petersburg
Using open sources of information, you can conduct an analysis to identify the best cities to live in.
Selection criteria:
- income level of the population;
- employment and labor market;
- living conditions of the population;
- safety of residence;
- demographic situation;
- environmental and climatic conditions;
- population health and level of education;
- provision of social infrastructure facilities;
- level of economic development;
- level of small business development;
- development of the territory and development of transport infrastructure.
Why not the capital
Every year, sociologists conduct surveys and studies to find the best cities in the world or individual countries. Today you will learn about the best cities in Russia. The leader of the rating of Russian cities in terms of living standards 2020, oddly enough, is not Moscow.
- Tyumen.
- Moscow.
- Kazan.
- Krasnodar.
- Saint Petersburg.
This locality has the best education, a high level of income, there are many places for recreation, including with children, the roads are in good condition, and healthcare works like clockwork. The honorable first place in the ranking of which city is best to move to live in Russia in 2020 is deservedly awarded to Tyumen.
The capital continues to enjoy a high standard of living. This is due to a number of factors: Muscovites have the best social package in the country, high salary levels, and interesting leisure opportunities. Compared to the inconveniences experienced by northerners, the standard of living of a Muscovite improves in proportion to their salary.
In the ranking of Russian cities in terms of quality of life in 2020, the top three is Kazan, which is the sixth largest city in Russia in terms of population. The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan can boast of the quality of the education sector, the condition and quality of service of the housing stock, as well as the state of the road infrastructure.
The sharply increased number of people wishing to move to this city speaks of its growing popularity. Krasnodar is a large industrial center in the south of the country. It has been repeatedly named one of the best cities to build a business. It is registered in Krasnodar minimum level unemployment.
St. Petersburg is considered one of the best metropolitan areas in the areas of healthcare, education and life safety. The cultural significance of St. Petersburg is quite great. It is also a major tourist center. There are the most famous historical and cultural monuments here.
Millionaire cities
To find out which major cities in Russia have more than one million inhabitants, just look at our list.
- Moscow.
- Saint Petersburg.
- Novosibirsk
- Ekaterinburg.
- Nizhny Novgorod.
The capital's population is over 12 million people. The most populous of the cities located entirely in Europe, it is among the top ten cities in the world by population.
The city is the center of the Novosibirsk agglomeration - the largest in Siberia. According to the latest data, the number of inhabitants is 1,584,138 people. Trade, business, cultural, industrial, transport and scientific center of federal significance.
One of the country's largest transport and logistics hubs, an important industrial center. The population of Yekaterinburg is over 1,428,000 people.
Nizhny Novgorod is one of the centers of Russian information technologies. More than 1,268,000 people live in the city.
What about the environment?
Ecology is an important factor in choosing a permanent place of residence. Therefore, it is worth compiling an environmental rating of Russian cities in 2020 to identify the most polluted.
- Norilsk.
- Moscow.
- Saint Petersburg.
- Cherepovets (Vologda region).
- Asbestos (Sverdlovsk region).
The main pollution is associated with the work of the largest complex, Norilsk Nickel. This enterprise emits 2 million tons of air pollution per year, which is almost 100% of all city emissions.
The total annual emissions are 995.4 thousand tons, of which 92.8% come from cars.
The annual emission of atmospheric pollution from the cultural capital is 488.2 thousand tons, of which 85.9% is vehicular emissions.
The total annual volume of emissions is 364.5 thousand tons, 95% comes from stationary sources, and the Severstal metallurgical plant makes the main contribution to air pollution.
And now about the pleasant things
Let's find out which cities are considered the cleanest in terms of environmental indicators and, accordingly, the most favorable for life. What do experts pay attention to when researching the issue of “clean cities?”
- presence of green spaces;
- concentrations of hazardous industries;
- waste collection and disposal;
- quality of drinking water.
- Pskov.
- Smolensk
- Murmansk.
- Nizhnevartovsk
- Sochi.
This locality is famous for its many green spaces, gardens and park areas. Dense coniferous forests located outside the city limits play big role when purifying the air. Therefore, the degree of air pollution remains consistently low.
Smolensk is surrounded by forests; in addition, the city is rich in functioning eight recreation parks, over ten public gardens and gardens, and four forest parks. The level of air and water pollution is low.
Murmansk deserves the title of one of the cleanest cities, therefore it occupies an honorable third place in the rating of environmentally friendly cities of Russia 2020. Forests occupy 43% of the total area of the city. The dust content in the air is much lower than the sanitary standard, and the water is perfectly clean.
Despite harmful enterprises, pollution environment in this locality is at the normal level, and the streets of Nizhnevartovsk are completely clean and well-groomed.
The absence of heavy industrial enterprises, which cause the greatest damage to the environment, coupled with beautiful nature, allows Sochi to be considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Russia.
Dear Life
Russia is a large country, the standard of living in each region is different. Somewhere you need to open your wallet wider so that you have enough for the essentials. But in some places, a small amount is enough to live luxuriously. Where are such heavenly places and which ones should you not even lay your eyes on? We present the most expensive cities in Russia.
The leader in the ranking of Russian cities in terms of wages in 2020 was Moscow, where the average salary is 45,000 rubles. Also, do not forget that the most expensive locality is Bilibino, which beats the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world in 2020.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has published its annual Global Liveability Report 2017, which ranks the world's cities by quality of life. Here you need to understand that many parameters were taken into account: the level of crime, the threat of terrorism and military conflicts, accessibility to healthcare, education, infrastructure, the existing cultural environment, ecology, etc.
I hasten to disappoint you, Moscow was only in 80th place. Our Ukrainian neighbors are also in for an unpleasant surprise.
It also turned out that I was in more places from the last ten rankings than from the first. So enjoy photos and posts from cities you probably never want to visit! ;)
Beautiful city, I met here New Year! Melbourne has a cool tram, great wine, delicious steaks and koalas. What else is needed for happiness?
3. Vancouver (Canada) But I never made it to Vancouver (I only saw it from the airplane window.
I’ve been, seen, walked, and I can confirm: everything is great here!
5. Calgary (Canada) I didn’t make it, I need to fix it!
6. Adelaide (Australia). I haven’t been either (Shame! I’ll definitely visit in December!
7. Perth (Australia) It’s in the plans for December! By the way, Perth is a city of miners with all the ensuing consequences: miners love to have fun;) And a city of ordinary Australian men, bogans! We’ll sit on the courts, beat someone and drink beer.
Many people like Auckland, but I find it a bit boring. Yes, safe, clean, but BORING!
Oh, I wrote a lot about this recently;) Did you like it?))))
Hamburg is not only the protests I recently covered, but also a livable city!
Oh) We are in the middle.
Oh, and Kyiv is in trouble. Literally, in the top ten worst cities. It's all because of the Maidan and its consequences. Or maybe the environment has worsened due to tires?
I don't particularly remember the city...
133. Harare I haven’t been here, but I’ve been to Zimbabwe and I can say that it’s an ASS!
134-135. But they shouldn’t have included Karachi. Cool city! I like it. Islamabad and Lahore are a much bigger dump.
This is where I don’t understand at all: a cool, safe and green city! I enjoyed spending 3 days there at the time.
136. Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) Plans for next year.
Would you like to live in the most comfortable city in the world? Then don’t look towards the USA, because the best cities are in completely different countries. This follows from the annual The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), published in August 2018.
The Economist magazine staff rated the largest and medium-sized cities on Earth on a scale from 0 (least livable city) to 100 (most livable city). The Economist's Global Liveability Index uses 30 indicators to measure five categories of liveability:
- stability (this includes data on crime rates, unrest and terrorist attacks);
- healthcare;
- culture and environment (from the weather to the level of service in local restaurants);
- education;
- infrastructure.
Here are the winners in the top ten the most comfortable cities to live in 2018. They were selected from 140 applicants worldwide. The Global Comfort Index tells employers how much of a lift they will need to pay for employees who move to another city.
10. Adelaide, Australia - 96.6 points
This business, administrative, cultural and recreational center of South Australia is known as a major wine center. It is also famous for the annual independent International Festival arts In such categories as “Education” and “Healthcare” the city received one hundred points each. And in other categories I didn’t “lose my face”, scoring 94 or more points.
9. Copenhagen, Denmark - 96.8 points
The capital of Denmark is not crowded compared to the largest cities in Russia. About 600 thousand people live in it and about 1.3 million more people live in the suburbs. However, it is very easy to fall in love with this city thanks to its calm, friendly locals, well-groomed environment, a huge number of attractions and well-developed infrastructure. Copenhagen also has an excellent public transport system, but the easiest and most environmentally friendly way to get around the city is by bicycle, which is what many locals do.
8. Tokyo, Japan - 97.2 points
Japan's capital remains in the top 10 best cities thanks mainly to falling crime rates and improved public transport, the EIU report says.
Tokyo's attractions for travelers are obvious: it is a huge, clean and incredibly safe city with a well-developed public transport system. Add to this the huge number of shops, entertainment, restaurants, high-tech industries and financial centers and you will understand why one of them is popular among tourists and businessmen.
7. Toronto, Canada - 97.2 points
While Canada's three top-ranked cities perform differently across all categories, they have at least one thing in common: diversity. Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto attract many international students, professionals and new permanent residents, many of whom have acquired Canadian citizenship. Roughly half of Toronto's population was born abroad, about 30 per cent of Calgary residents and more than 40 per cent of Vancouverites were born outside of Canada.
6. Vancouver, Canada, 97.3 points
Another Canadian city scored 95 points in the Stability category and 92.9 points in the Infrastructure category, with a 100% score in the remaining categories.
With relatively low crime rates, a stable economy and successful education and healthcare systems, Vancouver, like its Canadian peers in the top 10, competes well with larger cities overseas.
5. Sydney, Australia - 97.4 points
When it comes to assessing the convenience of living in a particular city, Sydney always comes out on top. It has a reputation as a beautiful city, with fun (and often free) festivals, convenient beaches and excellent transport infrastructure.
4. Calgary, Canada - 97.5 points
This city of quirkiness, climate change and high-tech manufacturing scores excellent in most categories. The exception was the “culture and environment” category, where Calgary had only 90 points out of one hundred.
3. Osaka, Japan - 97.7 points
The Japanese metropolis has risen by six positions over the past six months, landing in third place and reducing the gap with Melbourne to a minimum. Improvements in Osaka include improvements in the quality and accessibility of public transport, as well as a consistent decline in crime rates. These positive changes resulted in higher ratings for infrastructure and stability.
2. Melbourne, Australia - 98.4 points
The former leader of the top 10 best cities to live in this year occupies an honorable second place. This was facilitated by a slightly higher (than number one) crime rate.
Melbourne reaffirmed its leadership in culture and the environment, but this did not help outweigh the improvement in Vienna's stability rating. Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Cupp congratulated Vienna and said that although Melbourne had lost its top position, it still had its best result in eight years. Last year the city scored 97.5 points.
1. Vienna, Austria - 99.1 points
Melbourne has topped the list of the most comfortable cities in the world for seven years in a row, but the risk of terrorist attacks in Western Europe, as well as a small number of crimes committed in the Austrian capital, helped Vienna take first place. This is the first time in the history of the EIU ranking that a European city has received the title of “most livable”.
“Both cities saw their scores improve this year. But Vienna's improvement was slightly greater than Melbourne's, so it simply slipped up to number one.", — Simon Baptiste of the Economist Intelligence Unit told ABC Radio Melbourne.
To summarize: where are the largest megacities and Russia?
All of the cities in the top 10 are located in wealthy countries with relatively low population densities. Therefore, local residents can enjoy active recreational activities that do not result in high crime rates or place a heavy burden on infrastructure. Although the capital of Austria and the cities of Japan cannot be called sparsely populated, the population of Vienna and Osaka is smaller than in other megacities.
Recognized business centers with a population of millions have fallen victims to their own overcrowding. In New York, London, Paris and other major cities in the world, there is an “overload” of infrastructure and a high crime rate. And this does not contribute to comfort for respectable citizens.
But most of the cities whose positions collapsed (Kyiv, Tripoli and Damascus) suffer from a high level of instability and conflict. This, in turn, leads to the destruction of infrastructure, increased pressure on hospitals and undermines the availability of goods, services and recreational activities.
Russian megacities Moscow and St. Petersburg are in 68th and 70th positions respectively.
The worst city to live in today is Syrian Damascus.
