Worst cities to live in Africa in 2024

In its report “The Global Liveability Index 2024,” The Economist Intelligence Unit featured the world’s most liveable cities and those considered the least liveable.

This report evaluates the livability of cities worldwide based on a combination of five key factors: stability (crime and conflict levels), healthcare (availability and quality), environmental/cultural factors (climate, religious restrictions, food, and drinks), education (availability and quality), and infrastructure (roads, public transport, water, housing, energy, and telecommunications quality).

“Global liveability has risen fractionally over the past year but risks to stability remain,” Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy industry director at EIU, explained in a press release. “High inflation, accompanied by interest rates and other economic headwinds, has led to frequent protests worldwide.”

Overall, Western Europe remains the world’s most liveable region with eight cities in the top 20. For the third consecutive year, Vienna, Austria, claims the title of the world’s best city to live. Achieving perfect scores in stability, healthcare and education.

The bottom of our EIU’s liveability rankings is dominated by cities from Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA.

Damascus (Syria) is still the least liveable of the 173 cities in the survey, with Tripoli (Libya) one place above it. Following years of civil war that has wrecked their economies, both cities score very poorly for stability and have not seen any improvement in liveability.

1. Tripoli, Libya is ranked as the least liveable city in Africa in 2024.