The Economist Group research arm’s report revealed that Kuala Lumpur ranked 94th, moving up 19 spots from last year’s list.

Kuala Lumpur scored an index rating of 74.3 out of 100 points in the 2023 survey, which was conducted between Feb 13 and March 12. (Pexels pic)

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur has been named among 10 cities globally that saw a major leap up the “liveability” rankings, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The Economist Group research arm’s global liveability index 2023 revealed that Kuala Lumpur is now ranked 94th, moving up 19 spots from last year’s list.

Kuala Lumpur was the seventh biggest mover up the ranking and scored an index rating of 74.3 out of 100 points.

Wellington topped the list of biggest movers, jumping up 35 places and is now ranked 23rd. It was followed by Auckland, up 25 spots to 10th, Perth (21, 12th), Bucharest (21, 99th), Hanoi (20, 129th), and Adelaide (19, joint 12th).

The report named Edinburgh, Stockholm, and Los Angeles as top three movers down the ranks, dropping 23, 22, and 17 spots to 58th, 43rd and 57th respectively.

Overall, Vienna topped the global rankings, scoring 98.4 points, followed by Copenhagen (98 points), Melbourne (97.7) and Sydney (97.4). Vancouver ranked 5th with 97.3 points.

“A shift back towards normality after the Covid-19 pandemic and incremental improvements in liveability made by many developing countries have been the biggest drivers of changes in EIU’s global liveability rankings,” the report said.

It added that the 2023 survey, which was conducted between Feb 13 and March 12, showed a noticeable improvement across the globe following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

“The average index score across all 172 cities (excluding Kyiv) in our survey has now reached 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 a year ago. This is the highest score in 15 years for the original comparable list of 140 cities,” it said.

Thirty-three cities have been added to the survey’s coverage since 2022, with many from China. They now dominate the middle of the rankings.

The report added that healthcare scores have improved the most, with smaller gains for education, culture and environment, and infrastructure.

“Only stability has seen a small decline, reflecting increasing perceptions of corruption and civil unrest in many cities amid a cost-of-living crisis, as well as an uptick in crime in some cities.”