Dhaka ranks 166th out of 172 cities in the livability index

 By Mahbub Hasan Tutul, Dhaka

Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh is seventh in the list of livable cities. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2022 index, Dhaka ranks 166th out of 172 cities. The EIU released the list on Thursday.However, Dhaka is three steps ahead of the previous year in the list of livable cities. In the index of 2021, Dhaka was 137th out of 140 cities.

In the livability index, Dhaka’s score is 39.2 out of 100 this year. The previous year’s score was 33.6. The EIU said the score had risen due to the lifting of epidemic restrictions.

EIU compiles this list of livability by considering five important issues such as urban sustainability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

The release of the EIU’s list is due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The list was not released in 2020. The following year the position of the cities on the list changed drastically. This is because measures such as lockdowns and social distance affect the cultural, education and healthcare scores of cities worldwide.

However, due to the lifting of the epidemic restrictions, the index of 2022 has become much more normal. Vienna, Austria, which dropped to 12th place last year, is back in the top spot. The European city collapsed last year after museums and restaurants closed due to a lockdown. Vienna was also at the top in 2018 and 2019.

New Zealand’s Auckland, which was at the top last year, has dropped to 34th place this time. The EIU said the city fell due to epidemic restrictions.

Copenhagen is second on the list. Zurich and Calgary are joint third. Most of the top 10 cities are in Western Europe and Canada. Six of the top 10 cities in Europe.

Nigeria’s Lagos score of 32.2 is second in the list. With a score of 34.2,the Libyan capital Tripoli ranks third in terms of bottom. Kiev,the capital of Ukraine, was not included in the list due to Russia’s attack.