Auckland, New Zealand is the world's most livable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual ranking. So, it's goodnight Vienna - last year's No. 1 urban utopia.
This year's survey saw big changes in rankings as a result of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vienna was booted out of the Top 10 this year with cities in New Zealand, Japan and Australia taking over. The Austrian capital had topped the list since 2018 with Auckland and Melbourne trailing.
According to the list, Auckland's recent border reopening and its lifting of movement restrictions helped it climb the ladder.
"New Zealand's tough lockdown allowed (its) society to reopen and enabled citizens of cities like Auckland and Wellington to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to prepandemic life," the unit said in the report.
The last time Auckland was in the Top 10 was 2017 - ranking eighth. This year, Melbourne and Geneva tied for eighth spot. Vienna fell to 12th.
Another New Zealand city rose to the Top 10 this year. Wellington climbed to fourth. Australian's Adelaide jumped from 10th last year to third this year - leapfrogging neighbors Sydney and Melbourne. Japan's Osaka, which had jumped two spots from last year, ended up in second.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on global liveability. Cities across the world are now much less liveable than they were before the pandemic began, and we've seen that regions such as Europe have been hit particularly hard," the report said.
Unlike Australia, New Zealand and some countries in Asia, Europe struggled to get its vaccination programs off the ground.
Many European Union members encountered problems with controlling the spread of the virus, leading most to impose extended lockdowns. The restrictions greatly affected the scores of Europe's cities on this year's list - particularly under the "culture and environment" category.
All of the cities on the list were also scored under four other categories - stability, education, infrastructure and health care.
