Dhaka ranks third among the world’s least liveable cities

Dhaka has once again ranked near the bottom of the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Index, falling to 171st place out of 173 cities in the 2025 edition of the annual report. The Bangladeshi capital has now become the third least liveable city in the world, ahead of only Libya's Tripoli and Syria's Damascus. The latest report paints a grim picture of life in Dhaka, marking a

Dhaka has once again ranked near the bottom of the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Index, falling to 171st place out of 173 cities in the 2025 edition of the annual report.

The Bangladeshi capital has now become the third least liveable city in the world, ahead of only Libya's Tripoli and Syria's Damascus. The latest report paints a grim picture of life in Dhaka, marking a continued downward trend from 168th place in 2024 and 166th in 2023.

The index evaluates cities across five key categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Dhaka’s scores in these categories reveal major weaknesses.

The city earned 45 in stability, 41.7 in healthcare, and a low 40.5 in culture and environment. While its performance in education was relatively better at 66.7, infrastructure scored a dismal 26.8.

Dhaka’s overall index rating stands at just 41.7 out of 100.

On the other hand, Copenhagen has taken the top spot in the 2025 rankings, ending Vienna’s three-year reign as the most liveable city in the world.

The Danish capital achieved near-perfect scores, including 100 in stability, infrastructure, and education, and scored over 95 in healthcare and culture and environment, resulting in an overall rating of 98.

The EIU’s Global Liveability Index is widely recognized as an international benchmark for assessing quality of life.

This year’s findings highlight a growing disparity between cities in developed and developing regions.

Western European cities continue to dominate the upper end of the list, with several Asia Pacific cities and Vancouver representing North America also ranking high.

Globally, the average liveability score remained unchanged from 2024 at 76.1.