The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has named Vienna as the world's most liveable city for the third year running. The EIU released its annual Global Liveability Index earlier this week. This ranks 173 cities worldwide on factors that affect quality of life. These include culture, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, and stability. Vienna got "perfect" scores in all but one of the categories. It failed to get maximum points for culture, "owing to a lack of major sporting events". Vienna's residents are blessed with great architecture and a rich musical legacy.

The EIU said the average global liveability score rose "fractionally over the past year". However, it said "risks to stability remain". Tensions around the world could see numbers in the Index fall. The EIU said: "Since we conducted our survey, there have been more instances of civil unrest…around the world…that are unlikely to ease in the near future." The CNBC website said: "The stability category recorded the biggest decline out of all five categories this year, held back by geopolitical conflict, civil unrest, as well as the ongoing housing crisis and crime."