Dhaka has been ranked the second least liveable city in the world, just a step behind Syria’s Damascus that retained the last place, according to the latest annual global survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit or EIU, according to agencies. As per the survey, Dhaka scored 38 out of 100 and ranked 139th out of 140 cities, according to the Global Liveability Index 2018, published yesterday.

The worldwide league table ranks 140 cities on a range of factors, including political and social stability, crime, education and access to healthcare.

Austrian capital, Vienna, has beaten Australia's Melbourne to be named the world's most liveable city. Vienna scored a "near-ideal" 99.1, beating Melbourne on 98.4. It's the first time a European city has topped the rankings of the Economist Intelligence Unit annual global survey.

The others in the most liveable cities in 2018 in chronological order are Melbourne (Australia), Osaka (Japan), Calgary (Canada), Sydney (Australia), Vancouver (Canada), Tokyo (Japan), Toronto (Canada), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Adelaide (Australia).

Australia and Canada dominates the top ten, each boasting three cities. Australia had Melbourne, Sydney (fifth) and Adelaide (10th) while Canada had Calgary (fourth), Vancouver (sixth) and Toronto (joint seventh).

"Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries," researchers said in their report.

They noted that several cities in the top 10 had relatively low population densities which fostered "a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure".

Australia and Canada, researchers said, have an overall average population density of 3.2 and four people per square kilometre respectively, compared to a global average of 58.

apan, which alongside Osaka boasted Tokyo in the top ten (joint seventh), is the glaring exception to that rule with a nationwide average of 347 people per square kilometre but its cities are still famed for their transport networks and living standards.

Copenhagen was the only other European city in the top ten at ninth place.

Researchers said wealthy financial capitals such as Paris (19th), London (48th) and New York (57th) tended to be "victims of their own success" with higher crime rates and overstretched infrastructure dampening their appeal.

At the other end of the scale, war-torn Damascus was ranked the least liveable city while Lagos of Nigeria was third, Pakistan's Karachi in fourth and Port Moresby of Papua New Guinea was on the fifth position.

The Economist said that crime, civil unrest, terrorism or war played a "strong role" in the ten-lowest scoring cities.

The survey also looked at cities where long-term improvements had been made. Abidjan, Hanoi, Belgrade and Tehran saw the largest improvements in liveability over the last five years -- more than five percentage points.

Ukraine's Kiev, the capital of a European country wracked by political violence, civil war and the loss of Crimea to Russia, saw the largest drop in its liveability over the last five years (-12.6 percent). Puerto Rico's San Juan -- which was devastated by a hurricane last year -- as well as Damascus and Caracas also saw steep drops over the same period.