Hong Kong is more liveable than Singapore

The SAR is at 35th place whilst the Lion City is at 37th.

Hong Kong rose by 10 places in the global liveability rankings to nab the 35th most liveable place in the Asia Pacific in an annual survey compiled by research and analysis firm The Economist Intelligence Unit.

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Amidst improvements in political stability, the SAR was able to steal the 35th place from the Lion City who previously held the seat but has since dropped two spots to flop at 37th place in this year’s rankings.

Hong Kong performed better on cultural and environmental issues than the Lion City although housing supply and healthcare services in Singapore was of better quality, according to Simon Baptist, global chief economist and managing director of The Economist unit in Asia.

For instance, home ownership in space starved Hong Kong has plunged to 49% in 2017 whilst Singapore levels have exceeded 90% on the back of accessible government housing supply, according to a Bloomberg report.  

“The [regional role] of Hong Kong will become smaller, and Singapore is [becoming the choice of Asia-Pacific headquarters for multinational companies] because of its quality of life,” he was quoted in South China Morning Post.

Lower levels of social unrest boosted Hong Kong’s through the liveability rankings after a stabilising political situation four years after the pro-democracy Occupy movement.

The most liveable city in the world is Vienna with an overall rating of 99.1.

Australian cities Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide dominated the top ten most liveabile cities along with Canadian cities Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. Japanese cities also made a strong performance with Osaka and Tokyo nabbing third and seventh place respectively. On the other hand, the ten least liveable cities are conflict-torn Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Syria.