Vienna tops the “"The Global Liveability Report 2018” index for 2018, While Damascus scores the Lowest

The Austrian Capital Vienna has been named the "most livable city in the world", overthrowing Melbourne, Australia, which held the annual ranking for the past few years.

This is marks the first time that a European city has been at the top of the annual ranking compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Which analyzes the most suitable cities around the world for living and working.

Although both Melbourne and Vienna have registered improvements in livability over the last six months, increases in Vienna's ratings, particularly in the stability category, have been enough for the city to overtake Melbourne," the report explains.

Each year, 140 cities are given a score of 100 points based on a series of criteria, such as living standards, crime, transportation, infrastructure, education and health care system, as well as political and economic stability.

Vienna scored a "near perfect" score with 99.1% ahead of Melbourne which ranked second place with 98.4%. Australian and Canadian cities dominated the top ten in this category. The cities that perform best are the medium-sized ones located inside rich countries.

Cities that ranked the lowest in the index were marked by terrorism and civil unrest, according to the index. In the most extreme cases, the cities were plagued by civil war. Damascus, Syria, was once again viewed as the least livable city in the world with a 30.7 overall rating, stemming from the ongoing civil war, which erupted in the state.