Global Livability Index 2022: Bengaluru, ranked 146, scores least among Indian cities

The other four Indian cities on the list also did poorly. Delhi (140) was followed by Mumbai (141), Chennai (142) and Ahmedabad (143).

Bengaluru may have topped the Union government's Ease of Living Index last year, but Karnataka's capital city fared the worst among Indian cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Livability Index 2022, which was released on June 24.

Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (File Photo/Used only for representation)

Bengaluru's position in Global Livability Index 2022

For the first time, a total of five Indian cities featured on the list; before 2022, only Delhi and Mumbai were featured. For the current edition, the index was expanded to include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai as well.

However, each of the five performed poorly, being listed between 140 and 146. India's IT capital was ranked 146 with a total livability score of 54.4. Delhi, the national capital, and financial capital Mumbai were ranked 140 (score 56.5) and 141 (score 56.2) respectively. Chennai and Ahmedabad were placed at 142 and 143 respectively, scoring 55.8 and 55.7.

Why Bengaluru did so bad?

The metropolis, which houses several multinationals and is also the preferred city for start-ups, attained a score of just 46.4 (out of 100) for infrastructure, the lowest among the five Indian cities.

EIU bases its infrastructure score on quality of roads, public transport, international links, energy provision, telecommunications, water, and availability of good quality housing.

Known for its gardens, Bengaluru has, in recent years, also faced severe flak for its ‘concrete jungles’. It is also infamous for its traffic jams.

Pakistan's largest metropolis, Karachi, was ranked among the five least livable cities but did better than Bengaluru in infrastructure, scoring 51.8. Nigeria's Lagos, the most populous city in Africa, was ranked the third least livable city, but scored as much as Bengaluru for infrastructure.

Global Livability Index

The EIU takes the following five factors into consideration for its annual livability index: stability (25%), culture and environment (25%), healthcare (20%), infrastructure (20%), and education (10%).

A total of 173 cities are analysed for this index. This year's list is topped by Austria's capital Vienna, while the least livable is Syria's capital Damascus.