Adelaide named third most liveable city in the world by The Economist

Adelaide has been ranked third most liveable city in the world. Thanks for the reminder!

The Economist has reminded Adelaideans of what they have long known to be true; that we live in one of the world’s great cities.

In the organisation’s 2021 rankings Adelaide was beaten to best spot for “liveability” only by near neighbour Auckland and in second place, Osaka.

The SA capital easily beat Australian rivals because of a strong Covid-19 response. Melbourne dropped from second to equal eighth, Perth sixth, Brisbane tenth and Sydney eleventh.

The system compares 140 cities according to stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure.

A major factor for the latest rankings was Covid-19 safety responses within the “healthcare” category, credited in the report for lifting Auckland from sixth to first place.

The report also praised the SA response: “In third place is Adelaide in Australia, which also imposed a ban on international travel”.

Adelaide scored lower only for “culture and environment”; 83.8 out of 100, but highly for stability (95), healthcare (100), education (100), and infrastructure (100).

Melbourne dropped because of a series of Covid-19 outbreaks and the response, which garnered an 83.3 score for healthcare.

The list was postponed in 2020 but in 2019 Adelaide was ranked tenth behind Melbourne, second and Sydney, third.

In 2018 Adelaide was also tenth.

The ranking was welcomed by leaders within the state, including Premier Steven Marshall.

“I think we’ve done a great job overall with the coronavirus; we’re the safest state in the safest continent and now we’re being recognised by The Economist,” he said.

“I think that everyone appreciates we’ve got a wonderful lifestyle, a very safe, sustainable lifestyle here, and that’s now being recognised right around the world.”

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor agreed South Australians enjoy a quality of life that is unimaginable in other parts of the world.

“Our city is full of life, with our world-renowned festivals, arts, sport and culture safely going ahead, and our bars and restaurants open for business,” she said.

Daniel Gannon, SA executive director of the Property Council of Australia, said Adelaide’s recognition was “hardly a surprise”, and the state should now focus on the future.

“Throughout the pandemic our state has built a new reputation focused on resilience, safety and wellbeing, which is leading to an increase in attention, population and investment,” he said.

“One area of policy focus should now be attracting international students back to Adelaide to ensure South Australia’s export market remains as strong as possible.”