Melbourne took the top spot, nabbing the title as the world's most livable city. Canada's Vancouver, which dominated the rankings for almost a decade, is now third behind the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Cities were scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.

Australian cities featured prominently in the top ten, with Sydney ranked sixth and Perth and Adelaide in joint eighth place, according to the survey.

Recent turmoil affected results

The Arab uprisings prompted a fall in livability for affected cities in the Middle East. This was most pronounced in Tripoli, where the descent into civil war saw its ranking plummet from 107th to 135th. The Greek capital Athens meanwhile dropped five places to 67th due to recent government cutbacks and protests.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey ranked 140 cities based on research involving resident experts and in-house analysts.