In the ongoing battle between Melbourne vs Sydney, the southern state has just delivered a knockout blow.  It’s been crowned the third most liveable city in the world.

But it shouldn’t gloat too much, Sydney is hot on its heels at number four. And that’s not all.  Perth and Adelaide were equal 12th and Brisbane took up the rear at 16th when it came to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking of the world’s most liveable cities for 2023.  

Vienna and Copenhagen took out the first and second spots. The survey ranked 173 cities worldwide and looked at five factors which positively influence the lives of a city’s inhabitants: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. 

Related story: You won’t believe where the world’s most liveable city is

Unsurprisingly, given Australia’s two most expensive cities were at the pointy end of the results tally, affordability wasn’t assessed. To determine the results, each city is scored out of 100. Melbourne was 97.7 and Sydney came in at 97.4. The annual index reflects how a city has changed over a year to either improve or impair the lives of its citizens. 

Last year, Melbourne was ranked #10 and Sydney #13 because of extended Covid restrictions and overwhelmed healthcare sectors. The rise this year was thanks to higher healthcare rankings. But Melbourne is still down from its peak. It enviably held the prestigious title of the world’s most liveable city for seven long years from 2011-2018.

Related story: Melbourne makes ‘top 10 most liveable cities in the world’ list