The world’s least liveable cities are showing some signs of improvement

Egypt’s government worries that its citizens may get trapped in their lifts. Frequent power outages in Cairo, the capital, during the sweltering summer months mean that such miserable confinement is not an unlikely occurrence. Like many other cities in the Middle East and Africa, Cairo’s wobbly infrastructure makes it a difficult place to live. That reality is reflected in findings by EIU, our sister company, and its liveable cities index, which shows that cities in the Middle East and Africa registered among the lowest scores in the world.

EIU’s global index judges 173 cities on five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Despite the general low rankings of cities in the Middle East and north Africa, liveability is generally improving. Its cities received an average score of 61, up from 58 last year. The score for sub-Saharan Africa (the world’s least liveable region) rose from 50 last year to 54 in 2023. Both regions saw improvements in cities at the bottom of the rankings. Algiers and Lagos—both in energy-exporting countries—benefited from rising energy prices, allowing their governments to pump money into public services and infrastructure.