(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 14 AGO - For seven years in a row the Australian city of Melbourne has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index, the ranking of the world's most pleasant cities to live in. But things have now changed, with Vienna knocking out the Australian city from the top position for the first time in the survey history, according to the last 2018 edition of the Liveability Index.

"The two cities are now separated by 0.7 of a percentage point, with Vienna scoring a near-ideal 99.1 out of 100 and Melbourne scoring 98.4," the EIU report reads.

After Vienna and Melbourne, third came Osaka (Japan), with 97.7 points, Calgary (Canada, 97.5), Sidney (Australia, 97.4), Vancouver (Canada, 97.3), Toronto and Tokyo (97.2), Copenhagen (Denmark, 96.8) and Adelaide (Australia, 96.6.).

According to the Index, the ten least livable cities are Dakar (Senegal), Algiers (Algeria), Douala (Cameroon), Tripoli (Libya), Harare (Zimbabwe), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), Karachi (Pakistan), Lagos (Nigeria), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Damascus (Syria), ranging from 48.3 to 30.7 points. The index takes into consideration several categories, including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. (ANSA).