World living standards improve, index says, but terrorism remains a big threat

by Dramelin 7:00 AM 0 comments

Melbourne is still the most liveable city in the world: EIU    7 Hours Ago | 02:39 Sydney, Australia also dropped from seventh to 11th place in the past two years.
"There have been more episodes in Sydney of suspected events [of terrorism], and general unease towards the topic," said Scuratti on Sydney`s downgraded position.
In comparison, Melbourne was able to retain its position at the top of the index for the seventh consecutive year, in part because people did not perceive it as under a high terrorism threat, he added.
According to Scuratti, the biggest surprise in this year`s ratings was Singapore, a wealthy Southeast Asian city state which leaped 17 places to finish at number 35.
That expectation-beating performance was largely due to improvements in education, Scuratti said.
Singapore displayed "very good performance in its education indicators," said Scuratti.
"The indicators show that Singaporeans are very good at math, science and reading.
" Several other Asian countries also outperformed, relative to other locations.
Of the 12 cities that saw living standards improve, six were based in Asia, according to the EIU statement.
This year`s overall global improvement, despite small, suggests that living standards are finally stabilizing, the EIU statement said.