The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its Global Liveability Index 2023, which ranks cities based on their livability factors. Unfortunately, Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, has been placed among the five least livable urban centers in the world.
Out of a total of 173 cities, Karachi stands at 169th position, with only Lagos, Algiers, Tripoli, and Damascus ranking lower than Karachi. It is noteworthy that Karachi is the sole city from Pakistan included in the index.
The EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2023 focuses on the post-Covid recovery of cities worldwide and evaluates living conditions based on five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Scores ranging from 1 to 100 are assigned to cities, with 1 being considered intolerable and 100 being the ideal livability score.
With an overall score of 42.5, Karachi falls significantly below the desired livability standard. It performed particularly poorly in the stability category, receiving a score of 20, indicating minimal improvement from its 2022 performance.
Karachi obtained scores of 50 for healthcare, 38.7 for culture and environment, 75 for education, and 51.8 for infrastructure.
Regrettably, Karachi’s history on the EIU’s liveability index has been unfavorable. In 2019, it ranked 136th out of 140 cities, and no report was published in 2020. In 2022, it marginally improved to the 134th position out of 140 cities.
Most of the top-ranked cities on the index are located in Western Europe and Canada. Vienna, the capital of Austria, secured the top spot for the second consecutive year, achieving a perfect score of 100 in four out of the five indicators.
The low ranking of Karachi in the Global Liveability Index 2023 highlights the significant challenges the city faces in terms of stability and overall living conditions.
The stability category takes into account factors such as crime rates, political unrest, and terrorism, indicating that Karachi still struggles with these issues. The healthcare score of 50 suggests that access to quality healthcare services and facilities remains a concern in the city.